Eye of the Storm
by Kishiro Kitsune
Summary: Slight AU. shonen ai. School is hard enough when it's a normal school that teaches normal things. Unfortunately for Riku's daughter and her friends, the school isn't normal. And it's run by Yuffie. Add in the return of old friends and you get more problem
1. Chapter 1

**Summary**: Slight AU. Years later, most of the KH characters have kids. Several of those kids go to Destiny Gardens, a new training facility that Leon put together with the help of Yuffie. One is special in particular, for she is Riku's daughter. She's never known her mother, but a series of events bring her face-to-face with her missing parent. Some shonen ai and mentions of mpreg

**_Pairings_**: Leon/Cloud, Tidus/Selphie, Riku/(secret), and others

**Warning**: There are mentions of mpreg in this story, so if you don't like that you can either ignore the mentions or not read the story at all. Oh, and some shonen ai. Eventually.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy. I do, however, own Nerina, Andrew, Sorika, Skylar, and any other OC's made up for the purpose of this fanfiction.

* * *

_Chapter 1_

School is hard. There's no doubt about that. And it's suppose to be or else how would you learn anything well? If nothing were to give you a challenge, how would you improve? There are days when Destiny Garden's motto seems to be, "A school without challenge is no school at all". Those are the days that Sorika Kagi hates the most.

It's not because of the challenge, because she doesn't mind that too much. It's that _every single class _decides to be challenging on the _exact same day_. And it has nothing to do with her staying up late to play a new game with Andrew and Nerina Tillmitt the night before. Oh no.

Okay, maybe it has a little to do with it.

"Riiiikaaaaaa!" Nerina sings cheerfully, using Sorika's nickname. "Cheer up! We're gonna have a great day in gym today! We're starting the Blitzball unit, I'm so excited!"

Andrew, Nerina's older brother, rolls his eyes. "Rina, you're worse than dad when it comes to Blitzball."

"Of course!" Nerina chirps. "And it's because it's only the best sport in the whole entire world! In any of the worlds!"

Sorika and Andrew sigh and look away while Skylar Strifehart raises and eyebrow and gives the youngest Tillmitt an incredulous look. "Nerina, what the hell are you on?" She bluntly asks.

Nerina looks scandalized. "Nothing! Why would I purposely do anything that would ruin my chances of being the best Blitzball player in the world?"

"It's- oh, never mind." Skylar mumbles.

Ever since their first year at Destiny Gardens, the four of them have been friends, maybe even best friends. Some people find it amazing that such different people can get along without fighting like they do, but they don't find it unusual at all.

Nerina and Andrew Tillmitt are the son and daughter of Selphie and Tidus Tillmitt. While Nerina takes after her dad with her love of Blitzball, she looks and acts more like Selphie with her light brown hair and blue-green eyes. Andrew on the other hand looks and acts more like Tidus with his calmer personality and blonde hair, although his eyes are an amber color. Both of the Tillimitt siblings are tan and are very active, Nerina's being Blitzball and swimming and Andrew's being skateboarding and biking. Nerina is fourteen and Andrew is a year older. The two were born on Destiny Island, although they now live year-round at Destiny Gardens since Selphie and Tidus teach there.

Skylar Strifehart is the daughter of Leon and Cloud Strifehart (don't ask how, they don't talk about it.). She's commonly called 'mini-Cloud' by Yuffie because she looks near identical to Cloud with her blonde hair and blue eyes. Her hair even spikes up like his somewhat. She's sixteen and from Hollow Bastion. She and her parents return there during summers to see her old friends and because her parents take a break from Yuffie, during those 2 ½ months.

Sorika Kagi is the daughter of Riku and… actually, she's never met her mother and Riku is always quiet when she even mentions anything along the lines of her mom. Sorika has white hair like her dad and sky blue eyes that everyone says she got from her mom. "Everyone" being the adults around her. She's fifteen-years-old and moved around for most of her life until she and her dad settled down at Destiny Gardens. She does know she was born on Destiny Island.

"Hey Sorika, have you heard anything new regarding your mother?" Skylar asks.

Sorika shakes her head no. "Nothing but the usual." She says with a sigh.

"So basically all we've got is that you have the same color eyes, she's your height, and…" Nerina taps her chin in thought and then smacks a fist into her open palm when she remembers the last thing. "And you were born on Destiny Island, so she had to have lived there at some point! So that's… three things."

"Great, that's so much to go on." Andrew mutters sarcastically. "You've been looking for nearly seven years now and have only found out that much. Why don't you give up already?"

"Because she's my mother!" Sorika exclaims angrily. "All of you know both of your parents and live with them! I've never even known mine and I want to find her! Even if it means finding out that she hates me and dad and that's why she left! I just-" She cuts herself off and clenches her hands into fists. "I just want to know what she looks like. That she exists."

Andrew smiles. "Exactly."

All three girls look at the blonde boy with incredulous looks on their faces. Andrew ignores it and looks ahead to try and find a distraction. "Ah! There's Haruko! _Haruko_!" He runs away from the girls and toward a pretty 15-year-old girl with brown hair pulled back by a blue ribbon.

"Every time." Nerina mutters. "He's completely smitten with her."

"It makes me ill." Skylar comments.

Sorika says nothing and instead looks at the ground and shuffles her feet.

"Oh, forget about that idiot brother of mine!" Nerina exclaims. "We have a half hour to kill! Lets go do something!"

"If it has _anything _to do with helping out Mr. Cid with weapon cleaning again you can count me out." Skylar says. "That is the one thing I never wish to do again."

Nerina and Sorika laugh at the statement and then surround Skylar and link their arms with the older girl's.

"Come on Sky, we're gonna do something fun!" Nerina exclaims cheerfully. "After all, this is our last week together before summer break arrives! When it comes you'll be heading off to Hollow Bastion like you do every summer and Andrew and I are going to Destiny Island this year for some fun in the sun! And Sor- oh…"

Sorika gives her friends a fake smile. "I'll be fine here guys. There's always something to do, you know?"

Nerina nods unsurely while Skylar looks away, not at all knowing what to do or say.

There's silence for a moment as the three continue walking along the cobblestone walkway at the school.

"Hey, hey, lets go do something fun!" Nerina exclaims. "We can go get a pizza and have a game night or something!"

Sorika shakes her head. "I can't, you know that. Dinner is one of the few times I get to see my dad. Seeing as how Yuffie sends him off on missions all the time."

"Ah yes, Yuffie's infamous mysterious missions." Nerina nods. "I can't wait until we graduate and are able to help out! It'll be fun!"

Skylar raises an eyebrow. "Fun? You think that going out to fight things and track down psycho's will be fun? And what happened to your Blitzball career?"

"It's still there and it's going nowhere!" Nerina exclaims. "First I'm gonna excel at playing while I'm here at school and become captain! Then I'll teach Blitzball here at school for a while and train on the side until I'm as good as my dad! No, better than my dad! Then I'll re-enter the Blitzball field as the first professional female Blitzball player! Yatta!"

"Good to see one of us knows what they want to do and is enthusiastic about it." Sorika says. "So back to our plans of doing something fun, how about we go do something after dinner? We could go to the arcade or drive out to the beach."

"Ooo! The beach! Let's go to the beach!" Nerina cheers.

"I take it you want me to drive." Skylar states. "Since neither of you can drive and there is no chance of convincing our parents to do this last minute."

"Please and thank you!" Sorika and Nerina say in unison.

Skylar sighs when the two laugh and wonders why she always gets the crazy people as her friends. Both in Destiny Gardens and back in Hollow Bastion she has crazy friends.

Sorika and Nerina take the blonde's sigh as a yell and pause in the middle of the walkway to grab each others hands and spin around singing, "We're going to the beach! We're going to the beach!"

"Children." Skylar grumbles, stopping to wait for the younger girls. "You two! Act your age, not your shoe size!" She barks.

"Aww," Nerina pouts. "I hate it when you go and start acting like your dad's on us. It's no fun."

"Poor you." Skylar replies. "Someone here has to be mature and keep you two in line. And since Andrew isn't here to help, I have to do it myself." She walks around until she's behind them and places a hand on each of their backs, giving her friends a push forward. "Now lets go. School's over and there's no way I'm staying her for any longer."

* * *

A half hour later, ten minutes after saying goodbye to Skylar and Nerina, Sorika arrives home and opens the door and steps in calling, "Daddy! I'm home!"

"Welcome home!" Riku calls out. "I'm in the kitchen! Why don't you go and change. Dinner will be ready in ten minutes."

"Alright." Sorika agrees. She quickly slips off her shoes and sets down her schoolbag and slides her feet into her sky blue slippers before she walks past the kitchen, which is on her right, and to the end off the hallway where she pulls down the attic door and heads up the stairs to her room.

In her room Sorika quickly removes her white skirt that has blue stripes going around it, the blue vest and tie, and then the plain white shirt that makes up the school uniform. She stretches, raising her arms over her head and arching backwards, making her back pop a little. She gives a small wince and stands straight, letting her arms fall to her sides. Then she picks up her school clothes and tosses them into the laundry basket sitting in a corner of her room and goes over to her dresser to grab a shirt. Not paying any particular care to what she's chosen, Sorika slips the shirt over her head and heads over to the closet. Grumbling something about herself being an idiot for forgetting to do her laundry again, she takes the only pair of pants left hanging up and slips them on, fumbling with the yellow belts hanging off of it for a moment.

Sorika walks across the room to her small wooden "make-up" table that Yuffie gave her for her thirteenth birthday and grabs her brush from the table and runs it through her hair to smooth the unruly locks of white hair. She sighs when it begins to poof up like it usually does. _'I bet if it were shorter it'd actually spike up like Sky's does. Maybe worse.'_

"Sorika! Dinner time!" Riku yells up to her.

"Coming dad!" Sorika yells back, grabbing a random hat off of the corner of the mirror before she runs out of the room and back down the stairs. She pauses at the bottom to put the stairs back up into the ceiling and then continues to the kitchen, but not before tossing her hat down the hall where it lands near her favorite pair of shoes. "Score!" She whispers with a grin, before entering the kitchen and taking a seat at the table across from her dad.

Riku raises an eyebrow at her choice of attire while blinking back tears at the familiarity of her clothes. "That's an interesting outfit." He comments, hoping his tone sounds indifferent.

Sorika shrugs. "I forgot to do laundry again so this is the only pair of pants I have left. I think Skylar got them for me last summer when she was in Hollow Bastion but they were a little too big then. I'll do laundry tomorrow." She promises quickly, noticing the look her dad gives her. "Promise!"

Riku sighs and nods, turning his attention to his food for a moment. "So, I take it you have plans for the evening?"

Sorika nods. "Yeah. Skylar's driving Nerina and I out to the beach and we're going to hang out there for a while. That's okay, right?" She asks before taking a bite of chicken.

"Yeah." Riku replies. "Just be back by nine and not a minute later!"

Soriku giggles. "Of course." She takes another bite of chicken and looks over at her dad, a thoughtful frown on her face. "Dad, aren't you hungry?"

Riku looks up, a surprised expression on his face. "Huh? Oh, yeah. I was just thinking, is all."

"'bout what?" Sorika prods.

Riku says nothing for a moment and instead pokes at his food, as if trying to decide whether he can trust his own cooking or not.

"Dad?"

Riku looks up and gives his daughter a fake smile. "It's nothing you need to worry about, Sorika. I'm fine."

Sorika frowns, getting the feeling that all is not well, but she lets it go and hurries to finish eating so she'll be ready when Skylar and Nerina arrive at 5:30.

The rest of their dinner passes without either of them talking. The room would be silent if not for the gentle clinking of the silverware on the plates as Riku pushes his food around his plate, not feeling all that hungry anymore.

Sorika finishes eating and puts her plate in the dishwasher just as Skylar pulls up in front of the house and honks the horn of her jeep. All thoughts of her father being upset fly out the window as she rushes from the kitchen to put on her yellow-orange and black Converses and twist her hair up into a bun so she can put on her hat.

Riku abandons his food in favor of following her out to the hallway to see her off and leans against the wall to watch her get ready and to make sure she has everything. "Don't forget a jacket. It's suppose to be chilly tonight since there's a rainstorm coming in." He reminds her.

Sorika nods and slides open the coat closet. After rummaging through the different coats she pulls out a dark blue and white jacket that has yellow belts that match the ones on her pants.

Outside Skylar honks the horn again, starting to get impatient.

"Sounds like Skylar's getting impatient already." Riku comments.

Sorika laughs as she re-bundles up her hair and puts on the brown hat she brought downstairs, momentarily wondering why she chose a brown hat when it doesn't even match. "Yeah, she probably thinks I'm trying to tame my hair again." She turns around to face her dad and smiles and Riku is struck by how much she looks like someone he once knew. "I'd better get out there. I'll see you later daddy!" She blows him a kiss before she opens the door and runs out, yelling at Skylar to be quiet.

The door closes on it's own, leaving Riku alone in the house.

Riku trembles a moment and then lets all of his weight rest on the wall as what was left of his composure is lost. "Damn it." He whispers, blinking back tears. "She- she looks-" A hiccup escapes as Riku slides down the wall, the damn holding back his emotions breaking completely as tears start rolling down his face. "They look so alike… so much…" One hand reaches up to clutch a locket he keeps hidden under his shirt. "I wish you were here…. Then you could see our daughter…" He raises his knees to his chest and rests his arm on top of them, making no move to wipe away his tears.

A second hiccup has Riku crying even harder as he buries his face into his arms, lost in old memories. He curls further into a ball as images of haunting blue eyes, a moonlit sky, and a sandy beach flicker through his minds eye and as whispered promises and proclamations of love echo through his mind, repeating over and over. Old feelings of desire, love, and heartbreak coarse through him and he can almost feel the touch of his love again.

And then, just as suddenly as they came, all of the feelings are gone leaving Riku shaking and feeling hollow inside.

* * *

Shiro: Well, here it is. My very first Kingdom Hearts fanfiction. (even though I haven't even played the game yet. T.T) And I'll warn you now, it'll probably be a while before I get the next chapter out. I was planning on waiting until I finished my Yugioh road trip story, but now's as good a time as any. So, anyone want to take a stab at who Sorika's mother is? I'm trying not to make it too obvious... is it working?

Bast: Aww, it's fine hikari. And look! You're starting to include more emotional feeling in this one! (glomps Shiro) I'm so proud!

Shiro: (sweatdrops) Ahhhh... Please don't do that.

Bast: (blinks) Why not?

Shiro: Because it makes you sound like a certain white-haired thief called Bakura.

Bast: Oh... yeah, that's not good.

Shiro: No, it's not. Now, back to where I was before Bast interrupted me... There's going to be more Kingdom Hearts characters in the next chapter. Cid's in it for sure and I may stuff Yuffie and Cloud having a conversation in there somewhere. Oh, and we get to see Skylar interacting with her parents, so Cloud and Leon will be in there somewhere. And I sort of introduce a few KH2 characters. Fun chapter, yes? Alright-y then! Please tell me what you think. Good? Bad? Okay? Interesting? Horrible-never-want-to-read-it-again? Reviews are food for plot bunnies! Help to keep the plot bunnies alive! (is attacked by plot bunnies) AHHH!!!

QUESTION!!!!

How many of you would like for me to put little profiles at the end of stories to tell a little about some of the characters coming in? And maybe reminders at the beginning of chapters to help remember whose kids are whose? Let me know, please!


	2. Chapter 2

**Character Profiles!!**

Well, one person agreed with my idea about doing profiles for characters in this story, so here we go: we'll start with my original characters and after this do two-three people from the actual game for each chapter. And I think among these original character's of mine, Skylar is my favorite followed by Sorika.

Sorika Kagi

Parents: Riku and ?

Age: 15

Eye color: blue

Hair color: silver-white

Hair style: long, 2 inches past shoulders

Background Story: She has moved around for most of her life with her father, never staying in one place for longer than two years. When she was 8 they moved to Destiny Gardens and during that year she met Andrew and through him Nerina. It was about halfway through the school year that she met Skylar when she changed to a higher level hand-to-hand combat class. She and Riku still live in Destiny Gardens in a one-story house. Her room is a converted attic that is perfect for the sleepovers she has with Skylar, Nerina, and Andrew. Her favorite clothes are her pairs of baggy jeans that have all sorts of buckles on them and short-sleeved shirts. In the summer she wears tank tops and spaghetti-strap shirts to go along with her loose fitting shorts which are just her old jeans cut off and sewn up at the knee. Around her neck is a chain from which a silver heart hangs. The heart is part of a collection of 4. Skylar, Nerina, and Andrew have the others. Her goal is to find and meet her mom.

Skylar Strifehart

Parents: Leon and Cloud

Age: 16

Eye color: blue

Hair color: blonde

Hair style: layered, cut above shoulders. Spikes up in back (like Cloud's)

Background Story: Born and raised in Hollow Bastion, Skylar has always been her daddys' little girl and has been surrounded by guys for most of her life. Although she's only a year older than Andrew and Sorika and 2 years older than Nerina, she's already ready to graduate from Destiny Gardens. She's the one who always keeps a cool head in a fight or come across a problem and usually doesn't show much emotion when she's at Destiny Gardens. That all changes when she goes back to Hollow Bastion and is reunited with the friends she grew up with or when she talks to her younger brother on the phone. The reason for this is because she's known them all (with the exception of her younger brother) since they were all little kids and feels comfortable enough to relax and let down her walls around them. She actually met her younger brother when she was 7, which means he was 4, and somehow convinced her dads to adopt him. (you find out who her younger brother is in this chapter) She started going to Destiny Gardens when she was 9 (which was the year the building of the rest of the school buildings was completed) and met Sorika in their hand-to-hand combat class halfway through the school year. She didn't meet Nerina and Andrew until the next year when they all had lunch together. She wears a chain around her neck that has a silver star hanging from it. Her goal is to one day teach at Destiny Gardens.

Nerina Tillmitt

Parents: Tidus and Selphie

Age: 14

Eye color: blue-green

Hair color: light brown

Hair style: falls to shoulders, single ponytail or braid

Andrew Tillmitt

Parents: Tidus and Selphie

Age: 15

Eye color: amber

Hair color: blonde

Hair style: spiked up

Background Story _(for both Nerina and Andrew)_: The two were born on Destiny Island and moved to Destiny Garden several years after they started going to the school. The two keep in touch with their friends there, and go to visit a few weeks in the summer sometimes. Nerina is a complete Blitzball addict and is can usually be found wearing some type of swim suit with a wrap skirt tied around her waist. The only time she doesn't wear something like that is at school where they're forced to wear uniforms. Andrew is a little different. While he likes the beach and the water he would rather go skateboarding or rollar blading or something else. Another difference between the two is that Andrew wears light colored clothes that aren't bright or extremely colorful. Andrew was the first to meet Sorika and he introduced her to his sister a week or two later. Nerina wears a necklace with a silver teardrop hanging from it while Andrew's is a silver diamond. Nerina's dream is to be the first professional female Blitzball player and Andrew's dream is to have a big family when he's older.

Haruko Gainsborough

Parents: Aerith and Zack

Age: 15

Eye color: blue

Hair color: brown

Hair style: pulled back with a baby blue ribbon

Background Story: Like Skylar she was born in Hollow Bastion. She and Skylar are old aqaintences, but they rarely talk even when they're in the name class. Haruko is an over-all friendly young woman, which is to be expected with her mom being Aerith. Andrew has a crush on her. She tends to wear light colored clothes, usually in baby blue and she prefers skirts over pants. Around her neck is a pink jewel on a silver chain that Andrew gave her on her 14th birthday. Her dream is to one day be the greatest healer at Destiny Gardens.

**Warning**: There are mentions of mpreg in this story, so if you don't like that you can either ignore the mentions or not read the story at all. Oh, and some shonen ai. Eventually.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy. I do, however, own Nerina, Andrew, Sorika, Skylar, and any other OC's made up for the purpose of this fanfiction.

_EDIT! changed Namimé to Naminé (stupid spellcheck mistake...)_

* * *

_Chapter 2_

Lunch time the next day finds Nerina, Andrew, Skylar, and Sorika sitting outside at school eating lunch in the grass. Or more like Nerina, Andrew, and Sorika are eating lunch and Skylar's sitting there with a book with a bored expression on her face.

"Your dad was crying?" Nerina asks in disbelief. "But he's- he's- he's _Riku_!"

Sorika sighs as she pushes aside her lunch. "It's not that he was crying when I got home, it's more like he _looked _like he had been crying. He was laying against the wall near the front door with his head resting on his knees. It was… weird."

"I'll say." Skylar comments, sliding a bookmark into her book before she closes it. "Uncle Riku is a lot like my dad and papa in that he doesn't show his feelings often unless it's around close family. They're too… too…" She tries to think of the right word to describe them.

"Strong." Sorika murmurs.

"I was thinking more along the lines of stubborn and prideful." Skylar says as she puts her book back into her school bag. "But strong works too."

"Are you sure he was crying?" Andrew asks, ripping open a bag of potato chips. Nerina makes a face as he takes a couple and stuffs them in his mouth. ("Eww! Do you know how bad those are for you?" Nerina complains.) He swallows before he speaks again. "I mean, what if it was something else?"

Skylar raises an eyebrow and stands up. "Andrew, what else could it possibly be. And believe it or not everyone cries. Even guys. You should have seen daddy after--" She cuts herself off and shakes her head. "Never mind. I'm going to talk to Mr. Cid. He wanted to talk to me about my swords and my new one that just came in. Later." She raises a hand in a wave as she walks off leaving Sorika and the Tillmitt siblings alone to finish their lunches.

"So… what do you think he was crying about?" Nerina asks. "I mean, Riku's not exactly 'Mr. Sensitive'. No offense, 'Rika."

"Momma…" Sorika murmurs. "It has to be. Dad's never cried about anything else. Not even when Fluffy died."

"Riku hated Fluffy." Andrew points out. "So did I, for that matter." Grumbling about rabid guinea pigs, he goes back to eating his unhealthy chips.

"You're just angry because Fluffy bit you." Nerina says, sticking out her tongue at her older brother.

"Nuh uh!" Andrew protests.

"Yeah huh!"

Sorika sighs and tunes her friends out, trying to focus on actually eating something before their next class.

* * *

"Mr. Cid?" Skylar loudly knocks on the door to Cid's office, trying to get rid of her nervousness and act calm like usual. "It's Skylar."

"Come in." Says a gruff voice. "And I've told you before, it's just Cid. Calling me 'mister' makes me feel old."

Skylar smiles at that and steps into the room and looks around, not at all surprised to find her weapons teaching sitting at his desk with his feet propped up on the table as he cleans his ever-present spear. "You said you wanted to see me?" She asks.

"Yeah." Cid says, taking his feet off of the table and setting down the spear. "Go get 'em. They're over there." He nods toward the right, where two large swords wrapped in white cloth are leaning against the wall. "Yuffie's gotten some strange news of something weird going on in Hollow Bastion and she wants you to take those with you in case you run into trouble." He explains, watching as Skylar easily lifts the heavy weapons and one at a time carefully slides them into the holster on her back. "And I've gotten in your gun blade that Leon wanted me to get for you. Don't let me hear of or see you using it around campus, you got that? Your father's going to teach you how to use that one since he's the expert around here."

Skylar nods. "I understand."

Cid looks up and looks around to try and find the gun blade in his cramped office. He spots it across the room teetering on a stack of papers. "It's in that box over there." He says, pointing to it.

Skylar looks in amusement at the stack of papers that looks about ready to topple over and then makes her way across the room to pick up the box. She nearly drops it once she gets it off the papers, surprised by how heavy it is.

Cid chuckles. "Heavier than you thought?"

Skylar grins and turns around with the box safely tucked under her arms. "Nah, it's nothing compared to these things." She jabs her thumb to the two swords on her back. "I can handle it."

"There wasn't ever a doubt in my mind, kid." Cid says gruffly. "Now scram. I've got work to do."

* * *

While the children have school to finish up with, the adults are having their usual monthly meeting in Yuffie's spacious office. And although it's Yuffie's office, it's not her who is in charge of the meetings. It's Cid.

While Yuffie, Riku, Cid, Leon, Cloud, Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie sit around a table and talk about the remaining events for the school year and a new summer problem, Aerith is busy listening in the corner while she makes tea.

"Yes, but you two and Skylar aren't the only ones going to Hollow Bastion for the summer." Yuffie argues, tossing her now long black hair over her shoulder. "There are other students here who live in Hollow Bastion and could see her over the summer. It won't be fair to just allow Skylar to take her weapons home!"

Aerith sighs as she pours tea into a blue china cup and then moves on to another one.

Leon narrows his eyes. "I know that, Yuffie." He says in a clipped tone. "But exactly how many of those students would you actually trust to let them take their weapons home?"

Yuffie says nothing and looks away from Leon as she crosses her arms over her chest. "Hmph!"

"Might I make a suggestion?" Aerith asks as she carried the tray of tea cups over to them. She begins handing them out as she makes her suggestion. "Perhaps you could make it more fair by choosing a select group of students who aren't staying here for the summer who will be able to take their weapons home with them. You could go over their grades and conduct reports and then talk to their teachers. Is that agreeable?"

"Yes…" Yuffie and Leon grumble.

Aerith smiles and takes a seat with her own cup of tea.

"Ever the peacemaker, huh Aerith." Selphie comments as she takes a sip of the tea. "Mmm… You make the best tea ever!"

"You've obviously never drank her first attempts." Yuffie mumbles to the amusement of Cid and Leon, who were both there for Aerith's horrible first attempts at making tea and lemonade. (1)

Aerith pretends to have not heard Yuffie's comment, not wanting to get everyone arguing again.

"Now that we've gone over all of this school stuff, why don't we go on to our next order of business." Cid says gruffly. "What's this thing about problems in Hollow Bastion?"

"Those are just rumors though, ya?" Wakka asks. "We don't know for sure?"

Yuffie slowly lets out a breath and leans back in her chair, having been dreading this conversation. "I don't know what to think about it." She glances at Riku for a moment, unsure of how he'll take her next few words. "Kairi contacted me recently."

Everyone looks at the ninja girl in shock.

"But we haven't heard from her in years!" Tidus exclaims.

Riku clenches his fists under the table until his knuckles turn white. "When? When did you hear from her?" He asks, trying to keep his voice as neutral as possible.

"A week ago she called me." Yuffie says. "I didn't even recognize her voice until she told me it was her. From what I gathered through that phone call she's been living in Hollow Bastion for six or seven years in the same area as Cloud and Leon." She glares at the two men, who look away from her.

"How is she?" Riku asks weakly.

Yuffie smiles, glad that Riku still cares for his old friend. "She's fine. And married now. I think she said she has a kid. But anyway, she called me and said something about weird things happening there. And it's not just the normal weird things. It's stuff like people vanishing at night and these mysterious brutal deaths."

Aerith looks worried. "Mysterious deaths?"

Yuffie nods. "Yeah, and we've gotten reports of strange noises at night."

"M-maybe we should evacuate Hollow Bastion." Selphie nervously suggests. "If there's people dying and stuff, we need to get everyone out of there."

"And where do you propose we put all of those people?" Leon asks. "There's not enough room."

"Oh… yeah. I guess you're right." Selphie says.

Yuffie, who was sipping her tea, sets down her tea cup. "I've already sent Tifa out to monitor the situation, but she'll need some help." She informs them. "Cloud, Leon, I need the two of you and Skylar to leave early. And Aerith, I want you to go with them. You'll all leave two days from now. That's only three days earlier than planned."

Aerith nods. "But what about Skylar and Haruko's schooling?"

"With Skylar's skills and how advanced she is in her studies she's on the same level as the seniors so she's already taken her exams." Yuffie says. "But I want Haruko to stay here since she has to finish up the year and she doesn't know Hollow Bastion as well as you four do. And don't worry, I'll take good care of our mini-Aerith! She can stay with me and Cid!" She says cheerfully.

"I told you to stop volunteering me for things without asking first, ninja girl." Cid says.

Yuffie just sticks out her tongue at him.

"If that's all, I need to get home and start on dinner before Haruko gets home." Aerith says.

Everyone looks expectantly at Cid, who rolls his eyes and says, "Fine. Meeting over."

Most of the group stands up and say their goodbyes to one another but Riku, Cid, and Leon quickly make their escape from the office before Yuffie can send them on any strange errands like going to get her groceries.

Eventually every except for Yuffie and Cloud have left the office.

"Something wrong, Cloud?" Yuffie asks, standing up from the table and pushing in her chair. "Usually you're the first to get out of here." She laughs a little at the memory of the last time Cloud fled and ran into Skylar on his way out. Tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, she begins collecting the abandoned tea cups.

Straight to the point like always, Cloud asks the one question Yuffie was dreading. "Have you heard from Sora?"

Yuffie sighs and carries the cups over to her sink in the corner, completely aware that Cloud is watching her every move.

"Yuffie."

The raven haired girl empties out the cups and stacks them up in the sink. "I…" She starts hesitantly. "I have, actually. He called yesterday."

"And you said nothing to any of us? Not even Riku, who has had you looking for him for years."

Yuffie turns around. "Cloud, you can't say anything to anyone else! Please!" Yuffie begs. "I promised Sora I'd keep it a secret!"

Cloud calmly waits for an explanation.

Yuffie takes a deep breath. "Sora's coming back."

Cloud's calm composer is lost as he openly gapes at Yuffie in shock. "What?"

Yuffie smiles, tears of happiness springing to her eyes. "Sora's coming back!"

* * *

Later that evening, after staying for two hours after school to watch Nerina's Blitzball game, Skylar gets home in high spirits to find her dad talking on the phone and her papa in the kitchen finishing up dinner.

"I'm home!" She announces.

Cloud looks up at her and smiles, motioning to the phone and mouthing a name that's familiar to Skylar. In return Skylar nods and points down the hall to her room.

This is the way things go every single day when Skylar gets home, even on days where Skylar stays after school for something. Except on those days whoever is cooking is finished by the time she gets back. Usually.

While Cloud finishes his conversation, Skylar heads back to her room to change out of her school uniform and put on a pair of black sweatpants and a dark blue t-shirt. After that she goes back out to the living room and takes the phone from her dad.

"Hey Rox," She warmly greets. "How are you?"

"_I'm good, although Tifa and Kairi have been acting even more protective than usual. How about you?"_

Skylar takes a seat on the arm of the couch as Cloud gets up and goes into the kitchen to check on Leon. "Pretty good." She says. "I've already finished my exams and I got my gun blade earlier today." She raises an eyebrow when she hears arguing on the other line in the background. "Roxas, I'm hoping that you have someone supervising Axel and Demyx this time."

Roxas laughs nervously. _"Well… Naminé and Zexion are with them. But Reno is here too…"_

Skylar groans. "Oh no, does this mean we won't have a house when we get back?"

"_Don't worry, it's Axel and Reno's house. They know better than to--"_

A small boom and a scream of fear that sounds like it came from Naminé is heard.

"You were saying?" Skylar teases.

"_You would think they would have learned by now." _Roxas grumbles disappointedly. _"I should probably go and make sure Reno and Axel aren't trying to kill one another again. Or that Demyx and Reno aren't trying to kill Axel. I'll see you Sunday, right?"_

"Of course." Skylar replies, her voice taking on a playful edge. "I'll see you then, baby brother!"

There's a sigh on the other end of the line. _"Yeah, see you. And stop calling me that!"_

Skylar laughs and hangs up the phone before she allows herself to fall backwards onto the couch, landing softly on the leather cushions. _'I miss them. Hearing that the group's together having fun and being idiots like usual makes me feel home sick.'_

"Skylar, it's time for dinner." Leon says, stepping halfway out of the kitchen.

'_Just four days until I see them.' _Skylar thinks, getting up off the couch. _'I can't wait for Saturday to get here.'_

* * *

end chapter

* * *

(1) If you couldn't tell by that comment there, I've read the wonderful books including the mini comics at the end of them. I found Aerith's lemonade making amusing.

Shiro: Hmm... somehow Skylar's personality feels all over the place in this chapter. And Cid doesn't seem quite right. I'll work on that. But the reason Skylar's personality seems a little out of it is because I'm trying to show how different she acts around people she grew up with all her life and how she acts at school and with the people she's known for only a few years.

Bast: (flipping through what little story plans Shiro has) You're gonna do what?!

Shiro: (glances over at the page) Oh, that. Yeah.

Bast: That's just cruel!

Shiro: (grins) I learned from the best!

Bast: (blinks) Oh... I'm so proud! (glomps)

Shiro: Bast! Get off!

Until next time! And remember, reviews feed plot bunnies!


	3. Chapter 3

(character profiles are now at the end of chapters)

And a quick reminder about the 4 OC's in this story:

Skylar Strifehart (16-years-old) (Leon and Cloud's daughter)

Sorika Kagi (15-years-old) (Riku and ? 's daughter)

Nerina (14-years-old) and Andrew (15-years-old) Tillmitt (Tidus and Selphie's daughter and son)

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy. I do, however, own Nerina, Andrew, Sorika, Skylar, and any other OC's made up for the purpose of this fanfiction.

_EDIT! changed Namimé to Naminé (stupid spellcheck mistake...)_

* * *

_Chapter 3_

Two days after the meeting Cloud, Leon, Aerith, Skylar, Yuffie, Haruko, Nerina, Andrew, Selphie, Tidus, Riku, and Sorika are gathered at the port waiting on the ship for Hollow Bastion and the ship for Destiny Island. Cloud, Leon, Aerith, and Skylar are there to go to Hollow Bastion while the Tillmitt family has decided to leave early to go to Destiny Island on Yuffie's orders. Yuffie, Haruko, Riku, and Sorika are just there to see them off.

"I'm going to miss you so so so so so so so so so soooo much! Promise me we'll call one another every day and write letters back and forth!" Nerina exclaims, hugging Sorika tightly.

Sorika tries to pry Nerina's arm off from around her neck, her face beginning to turn red. "'Rina, can't breath." She chokes out.

Nerina gasps and lets go. "I'm so sorry!!!"

"Jeez, you make it sound like she's your lover and you'll never see her again or something." Andrew comments. He holds up his hands defensively when Nerina glares at him. "I'm just kidding!"

"That's not funny, Andrew." Nerina says, her eyes narrow.

Andrew shrugs and looks around for an excuse to get away from his little sister. He finds his usual excuse in the form of Haruko and hurries over to talk to her.

"Jerk. He'll never grow up." Nerina grumbles, glaring at her brother's back.

Sorika remains silent, looking anywhere except in Andrew and Haruko's direction.

_//Ship 102 bound for Destiny Island is now boarding.// _The woman on the intercom says. _//Again, ship 102 bound for Destiny Island is now boarding.//_

"That's us, kids!" Selphie says excitedly. "I can't wait to get home! It feels like it's been ages."

Tidus lays a hand on Selphie's shoulder, hoping the simple motion might help her calm down. "Selphie, it's only been two years." He reminds her.

Like usual, a simple motion or gesture won't calm down Selphie once she gets excited. If anyone ever wondered where Nerina gets her hyperactivity, they would only have to look at her mother and the question would be answered.

The Tillmitt's say their goodbyes and go board their ship, leaving Yuffie, Riku, and Sorika to wait with Cloud, Leon, Aerith, and Skylar as they wait to board their ship.

Haruko spends the remaining time getting last minute instructions form her mom, Aerith, while Yuffie talks to Clod, Leon, and Riku and Skylar and Sorika stand in silence for a few minutes.

"Hey Sorika." Skylar speaks up unsurely.

"Yes?"

"If…" Skylar hesitates. "If you need someone to talk to this summer, just give me a call, okay? If no one picks up then leave a message and I'll call you back when I get a chance."

Sorika looks up at her friend and smiles. "Thanks Sky. That means a lot to me. You'll be the first I call if I need anyone."

_//Flight 314 bound for Hollow Bastion is now boarding. I repeat….//_

"See you, Skylar." Sorika says, awkwardly giving the Strifehart girl a hug. "And stay safe."

Skylar grins and ruffles Sorika's hair, something she rarely does anymore. "You too, squirt. And don't cause too much mayhem."

Sorika laughs. "Me? Cause mayhem? Well, maybe a little." She says jokingly, trying to make Skylar laugh.

It sort of works.

Skylar chuckles. "I believe that." She takes hold of her luggage and easily lifts it up. "Bye Sorika."

"Bye." Sorika waves as her friend joins her two dads and Aerith and goes to board the ship.

"Nothing more to do here." Yuffie comments. "We'd better get back to the school though. I left Cid in charge and the last time I did that he made little kids cry."

* * *

Days pass by slowly for Sorika without the company of her friends. The two final school days are the worst since there's no work with which she can distract herself. In fact, the only two classes that go by quickly are her martial arts class and her swordsmanship class.

And then school's out and she's left with virtually nothing to do. Instead of going to the arcade, the beach, and all of the usual summer hangouts she signs up for summer martial arts and swordsmanship classes.

When not in her classes she's at home with her dad just spending time with him playing cards and board games. When Riku is off doing something for Yuffie she sits up in her room writing in her journal trying to figure out how she can find out who her mom is. Other times she goes outside to work on her martial arts moves, using an old punching bag her and Skylar hung from a tree branch.

* * *

Over on Destiny Island, Nerina and Andrew are busy catching up with their friends and preparing for the summer camp they're going to. Selphie and Tidus are catching up with old friends as well and they're also relaxing and enjoying their vacation.

Like always, Destiny Island is peaceful.

* * *

Over in Hollow Bastion things are a little more exciting. While Leon, Cloud, and Aerith are getting caught up on what's going on by Tifa and Kairi, Skylar is enjoying the chance to sleep in a little and hang out with her younger brother and her old friends. Not that they actually give her a chance to sleep in.

The door to Skylar's bedroom slowly opens and in steps a boy with wild red hair. He's dressed entirely in black and has two black triangular marks beneath his green eyes. He slowly steps across the room, making sure to avoid the creaking spots in the floors until he's right beside her bed. After watching Skylar's even breathing for a moment, he smirks.

"Skyyyyyylaarrrrrr!" He whispers. "It's time to… WAKE UP!!!!" With a yell he jumps onto the bed, sending Skylar flying up into the air with a scream.

Skylar lands heavily on the bed, her hair a mess and the blankets all tangled up in her legs. "AXEL FIREHAVEN I'M GOING TO MURDER YOU!!!" She screams once she sees whom it is sitting beside her.

Axel quickly tosses a blanket over Skylar's head and takes off running for the door and down the stairs, all the while laughing like a madman. Skylar quickly throws the blanket to the side and gives chase, her blue eyes murderous.

Downstairs Roxas, Naminé, Reno, Demyx, and Zexion calmly play a game of cards and ignore the screaming and cursing from upstairs as Skylar tackles Axel in the hallway and Axel makes some perverted comment that makes Skylar smack him. They're all completely used to things like this happening. That's only normal after even just a year of knowing Axel and Skylar. Knowing the two best friends for more than five years however, means the humor of it all has worn off.

"What are you doing?! Don't touch that! Wh- AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!"

With several loud thumps and the sound of something hitting the wall, Axel and Skylar roll down the stairs together and land in a tangled heap at the bottom.

"My leg." Axel groans. "I can't feel it. Sky, get off."

"Shut up, idiot." Skylar growls. "This is all your fault."

"It is not!"

Reno rakes his eyes over Skylar's nightgown clad body. "Nice PJ's, Skylar."

Skylar automatically shoves Axel off of herself and turns bright red. "Shut up, Reno!" She yells, tugging down the silk dress-like garment. Giving Axel a quick whack in the back of the head, Skylar scrambles to her feet and rushes up the stairs to change into something more suitable.

"You're all a bunch of perverts." Naminé comments, laying down her cards. "And I win. Pay up, boys."

A round of sighs of exasperation go around the table as the guys toss money into the middle of the table. Naminé gleefully collects the money and arranges it in a neat pile. Then she gathers up the cards and skillfully shuffles them. "So what next?"

* * *

Back in Destiny Garden Sorika is outside in the courtyard at school warming up for her morning swordsmanship lesson. She expertly swings the sword at an invisible opponent, the blade glinting in the morning sun. Bandages are wrapped from her wrists up to her elbows and she's wearing a short-sleeved white gi top. The pants of her gi are of normal length.

Over on the side of the courtyard the few people she takes lessons with are busy stretching out and taking experimental swipes with their swords to see if they need to stretch out more or take it easy that day.

When most of the class, which is made up of about 7 people, is out warming up Cid finally makes his appearance with his spear.

"Sorika! Yuffie wants to see you in her office." Cid says, ignoring the way the other students start snickering when they hear that. "The rest of you are already in for a day of Hell, so I wouldn't laugh." That shuts them up.

Sorika sighs and sheathes her sword before she walks out of the courtyard without another word. Since it's summer she runs into no one as she enters the building and travels through the halls and up the winding staircase to Yuffie's office. It takes her ten minutes just to get through the building and up the stairs to her office where she knocks on the door.

"Come in!" Yuffie says loudly.

Sorika twists the familiar brass doorknob and steps into the large office to see that Yuffie isn't alone. Standing in front of the raven-haired woman's desk is a man around Riku's age who has spiky brown hair. His clothes are simple and look easy to move around in and if it wasn't for the heavy looking travel pack over his shoulder, he would look like a teacher at Destiny Gardens. When he turns around to look at her, Sorika can see that he has blue eyes.

"Sorika, this is Sora. He'll be training you in a special branch of swordsmanship starting today." Yuffie says.

* * *

end chapter

* * *

**New Characters**-

Axel Firehaven (the original Axel's "reincarnate" of sorts.)

Age: 16

Eye color: green

Hair color: red

Hairstyle: spiky, sort of long

Axel (along with his older brother Reno) has been Skylar's friend since they were babies. Born on the same day that she was, the two have always celebrated their birthday together. Because he's known Skylar for so long, he gets away with teasing her more than everyone else (except maybe Reno, who she has known just as long). While he likes fire and lighting things and people on fire, there is one thing he likes more and that is Roxas. Funnily enough, everyone except Roxas knows it and Axel doesn't think anyone except Reno (who stole his "journal") knows that he likes the little blonde.

Reno Firehaven

Age: 18 1/2

Eye color: (not really sure, but I'm going to say "green")

Hair color: Red

Hairstyle: spiky looking in the front, but long and tied back in a low ponytail

He's Axel's rather lazy older brother who doesn't manage to drive Skylar temporarily insane whenever he's around her. It's when he teases Axel that the trouble starts because then something either explodes, gets lit on fire, or both. Unlike his younger brother, Reno doesn't have control over fire or any other element. He's not completely defenseless though, as he can be found wielding bats (when he was younger it was sticks) and a retractable metal rod he got on his 18th birthday. One interesting thing is the golden necklace he wears around his neck from which a heart-shaped locket hangs. (More on that later)

Roxas Strifehart

Age: 13

Eye color: sky blue

Hair color: blonde

Hairstyle: spiky

Leon and Cloud adopted him when he was 4 after Skylar met him and begged them to adopt him. He fits right in with them to the point everyone assumes he and Skylar are blood-related. At first he just hung out with Naminé and Skylar, finding Axel too crazy, Reno too lazy, Demyx too loud, and Zexion... too Zexion. But then the first stages of Axel's little crush began and the redhead started hugging Roxas whenever he got the chance. It was either try to hide from the crazy pyro or put up with it, and Roxas decided to put up with it. By this point in the story he gets along with all of them, and you were to ask he'd say Naminé, Axel, and Skylar are his best friends.

Naminé Kokoro

Age: 14

Eye color: light blue

Hair color: blonde

Hairstyle: shoulder length

Looking like she'd fit in perfectly with the Strifehart's, Naminé is possibly the sanest of the Hollow Bastion group and is the daughter of Kairi. She's been learning how to do minor healing since she was 11, which comes in handy with all the scuffles her friends get in. She was the second person to meet Roxas and so she's the one he goes to when Skylar is in Destiny Garden. She's also really good at cards and never fails to beat the guys.

Demyx Kaiyou

Age: 16

Eye color: sea green

Hair color: blonde

Hairstyle: spiked up on top a little, but the rest of it falls a little past his ears

He met Axel and Skylar in 1st grade when some bully took his miniature sitar. Skylar told off the bully and got the mini sitar back while Axel and Demyx watched in surprise. They've been friends ever since. He hates it when everyone gets into serious fights, but finds the little scuffles and arguments they (usually it's Skylar, Axel, Reno, or Roxas in some way or another) get into funny. Now he owns a full-sized sitar and takes great pleasure in playing it and singing for his friends.

Zexion Kage

Age: 18

Eye color: blue-gray

Hair color: dark blue

Hairstyle: bangs fall in eyes, cut around ears

Zexion is easily the quietest and least argumentive of the group. Some of the time they wonder why he hangs out with them, but Skylar and Axel think they have it figured out (Axel figured it out first). The reason he hangs out with them is simple: Demyx. Or it could be because Skylar and Axel practically dragged him into their group. Zexion can usually be found reading or concentrating on casting small illusions for Demyx's entertainment. There's been a few times he's been caught staring at Demyx.

* * *

Shiro: The first sentence in the first paragraph... ugg... somebody shoot me.

Xigbar: Okay!

Shiro: **_NOT LITERALLY!!!!_**

Xigbar: (disappointedly puts down his gun)

Shiro: Stupid Nobody...

Demyx: (looks sadly at Shiro)

Shiro: Demy, what's wro-- oh. I'M SO SORRY! (glomps Demyx) I didn't want to kill you in the game, I really didn't! You're too cute!

Bast: You did so want to kill him! You got all competitive on Seto-chan and just had to defeat him the first time against him.

Demyx: (whimpers) You- you- I hate you! (runs off)

Shiro: (to Bast) See! Now look what you've gone and done! (runs after Demyx) Demy-kun! I'm sorry!!!

Xigbar: Jeez, and you guys think the Organization's messed up?

Bast: (gives Xigbar the patented 'yami glare)

Xigbar: (gulps) I'll just be leaving now. (flees)

_(from backstage- Demyx: Dance water, dance!_

_Shiro: (laughs) Yay!)_

Bast: (groans) Not another dance off...

_(Keitaro: Your water won't beat me this time, water-boy!_

_Demyx: Bring it on, yankee!_

_Shiro: Dance off! Dance off!)_

Bast: (hurries backstage for damage control)

Reviews feed plot kitties! (yes, they're plot kitties now. Plot bunnies are evil.)


	4. Chapter 4

And a quick reminder about the 4 OC's in this story:

Skylar Strifehart (16-years-old) (Leon and Cloud's daughter)

Sorika Kagi (15-years-old) (Riku and ? 's daughter)

Nerina (14-years-old) and Andrew (15-years-old) Tillmitt (Tidus and Selphie's daughter and son)

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy. I do, however, own Nerina, Andrew, Sorika, Skylar, and any other OC's made up for the purpose of this fanfiction.

* * *

_Chapter 4_

Sorika eyes her new instructor unsurely as he hums a cheerful tune while warming up. Her sharp eyes catch every little precise movement, every rustle of the loose clothing he wears.

'_There's more to him than what you see.' _She decides. '_He moves like Uncle Cloud, Uncle Leon, and dad. Like Yuffie too. That preciseness one gains only from fighting.' _She closes her eyes. _'But something is missing. Something isn't right. From how relaxed Yuffie was he has to be an old friend of hers. Especially since she's having him train me after dad said that no one except Cid, Yuffie, and himself could teach me.' _Feeling a headache beginning to form, she relaxes and lets her thoughts wander so the pain recedes. _'It's no wonder Sky always has a headache; she's the one who got me to think too much and absorb every single little detail.'_

"Hey."

Sorika snaps out of her thoughts and opens her eyes to find her new instructor standing right in front of her, a concerned look on his face. "Huh?" She asks unintelligibly.

"Are you alright?" Sora asks. "If you're not feeling well or keep drifting off then we should postpone the training until tomorrow. I don't want you to get hurt."

Sorika shakes her head and stands up. "No. I'm fine. Where do I start?"

Sora considers this for a moment, trying to recall what it was that Yuffie told him about the girl in front of him. _'What _did _she say? I know she mentioned something about her being a student of Cid's, so she must be pretty good. Yuffie also said she hasn't been in any real fights and that she's always fought with a wooden sword and a… a…'_ He thinks for a moment, trying to remember the word Yuffie used. _'Wakizashi? (1) Yeah, that's what it is.' _"We'll start with wooden swords." Sora says aloud. "I want to see what your skill level is."

Sorika nods and gets up before she reaches for her normal swords, only to realize what Sora said they'll be using. "Sir? I don't have a wooden sword with me."

Sora scratches the back of his neck and looks around, trying to recall if he remembered to bring the wooden swords. Glancing over at his bag, he sighs and curses his memory before he walks over to it and pulls out one wooden sword followed by another. "Catch!" He calls out, before he tosses one of them over to Sorika.

Sorika easily catches the wooden sword and spins it around once to get a feel for it. It's been a while since she has used wooden swords so she's now more used to the weight and feel of her wakizashi. She makes a few mid-air strikes and then spins the wooden sword around again and smirks. "Lets go." Sorika raises her confident blue eyes to meet Sora's.

Sora moves into position, thinking about how much she reminds him of Riku. He swallows with some difficulty and pushes back his thoughts so he can concentrate on training Sorika. "Whenever you're ready." He tells his student.

Sorika immediately lurches forward to strike, only to have Sora easily block her and push her away. Before she's out of range, Sora strikes her on the arm.

"Defend yourself!" Sora instructs. "You're wide open!"

Sorika scowls and moves back into position. _'What am I doing? What is it about him that unsettles me enough for me to loose my cool?' _She takes a deep breath and exhales slowly. _'Remember Cid's lessons. Strike at the opportune moment, stay patient and keep a strong defense!' _She quickly but cautiously steps forward and moves to strike, trying not to move her left arm to strike as well.

Sora notices that as he blocks. "You're used to two swords?" The two parry and then he moves to strike only to be blocked. 'This might turn out more interesting than I thought.' He blocks again and then spins around and strikes, barely clipping Sorika's arm. "Have you ever tried sending energy into your swords?"

Sorika looks at his in confusion for a moment, barely managing to block his next strike. "Of course not!" She replies. "I'm no magician or sorceress or whatever it is they're called."

"I'm surprised no one has tried to teach you before." Sora comments as he blocks her next strike.

"Are you going to?"

"Yes." Sora replies, striking only to be blocked. Using a little of his magic to help, he knocks away Sorika's wooden sword and points his at her heart. "Not bad for a beginner."

Sorika looks away, disappointed in herself for loosing so soon. "…not a beginner…" She grumbles.

Sora sighs and runs his free hand through his hair. "That's not what I meant. I meant for a beginner in what Yuffie likes to call 'sword magic'. Sit." He gestures to the bench that's only a few feet away.

Sorika obediently walks over to his and sits down, rubbing her sore arms where Sora smacked her with his sword.

"I'm not really sure how to explain it. I've never really taught anyone before." Sora grins a little. "I'll just start by saying this: it's not easy." He says, thinking of his most recent training. "For Yuffie to ask me to teach you means that you must be special. And as far as I know only four people can still do this: myself and…" He hesitates a moment, sadness flickering behind his blue eyes. "A king of a distant land and two old friends of mine…" There's a moment of pause during which he forces a smile on his face. "But that doesn't matter. I have two exercises for you to do before bed. They'll help, trust me."

Sorika nods and makes sure to listen to his next words.

"The first thing I want you to do is just a few simple stretches; nothing too elaborate. Then I want you to meditate for a while and right before you pull out of it, open up your mind and just listen. Listen to the sounds around you, to the pulsing of your heart and of the energy within you. Then slowly pull yourself back into reality."

Sorika takes a moment to think over all of the information and try to formulate some question but in the end she just nods.

Sora leans his wooden sword against the bench and sits down beside Sorika. "This is all for today. I… I need to go talk to Yuffie about something. I'll see you tomorrow."

Without a word, Sorika gets up and collects the things she had brought for class with Cid. _'Should I ask him?' _She asks herself. _'I might be able to get some idea of who she might be…' _She takes a few steps away and then hesitates. _'I'll ask. It can't hurt, right?' _She turns around to look at Sora. "Do-" She hesitates a moment when Sora turns his head to look at her. "Do you know my dad?"

Sora frowns. "Your dad? Who is your dad?"

"Riku. Riku Kagi."

Sora freezes up at that name, his eyes clouding over as old memories threaten to resurface. "Riku…" He whispers. Coming to his senses, he answers Sorika's question. "Yes. I- I knew him."

Sorika brightens. "Then you must know who my mother is, right?" She hopefully asks.

Sora shakes his head. "No. I'm sorry."

Sorika's hope dims and her smile fades away. "Oh…"

"I haven't seen Riku in sixteen years…" Sora says distantly.

"That's a long time."

Sora just nods, not wanting to say anything else on the subject.

Sorika wait's a moment to see if Sora will say anything else and when he doesn't she just leaves to go back home.

When she's gone, Sora drops his head into his hands and lets his mind drift back to sixteen years ago when he, Kairi, and Riku still lived on Destiny Island.

* * *

_Sora, Kairi, and Riku sit out on the beach watching the sunset together. Sora is in between the two, enjoying the peace and quiet._

"_No more heartless to fight." Kairi says with a happy sigh. "And you two are back home where you belong." She smiles at her two friends and gets one bright smiles from Sora and a small smile from Riku. "Things are finally back to normal."_

_Sora flinches a little and his smile dims slightly. "Yeah, back to normal." He whispers. "I wonder how everyone else is. Leon and Yuffie and the others."_

_Riku rests a hand on Sora's shoulder. "They'll be fine."_

_Sora nods. "I know. I just have a feeling…"_

"_A feeling?" Kairi asks. "What kind of feeling, Sora?"_

"_A feeling that we'll see them again. There's this nagging feeling that keeps saying that we met up for a reason. And not just to save the worlds, but for something else." Sora sighs. "It's frustrating."_

"_Sora… you're not hoping for another adventure, are you?" Kairi asks hesitantly. "I don't like the idea of you going off and fighting again."_

"_Don't be silly, Kairi!" Sora says with his usual cheerful smile on his face. "I've had enough fighting to last a lifetime!" He jumps up with a laugh and starts running toward the water. "Come on, Kairi! Riku!"_

_Kairi and Riku both stand up and watch as Sora runs into the water and trips in the sand. Kairi laughs and Riku smirks when Sora resurfaces with a starfish on his head._

"_You goof!" Kairi says affectionately. "Come out of that water before you catch a cold!"_

_Sora just laughs and takes the starfish out of his head and puts it back in the water. "Come on, guys! The water's great!" He gives the two of them pleading looks. "Please." He begs._

_Kairi sighs and gives in, kicking off her shoes. "Alright, just stop with the face! You know what that does to me!"_

"_I know, that's why I do it." Sora says happily. "Now come on!"_

_Kairi looks up at Riku, who doesn't look to be moving any time soon. "If I'm going in then you're going in." She tells him. "You know that you won't be able to resist for too long." She winks at him knowingly._

"_You were left alone with Selphie for too long." Riku informs her. "You're starting to be manipulative like she always was. And how do you know?"_

_Kairi just smiles and grabs Riku's hand. "I'm a girl! I know _everything_!"_

* * *

"_So are you going to tell him?" Kairi asks Riku in a casual tone. But Riku knows better than to believe it's just an innocent question._

"_Tell him what?" Asks the white-haired boy, taking his eyes off of Sora to look over at his red-haired friend._

_Kairi gives him a knowing look. "You know very well what."_

_Riku glares at her for a moment, but finds himself unable to retain his glare and sighs. He runs a hand through his hair, completely uncomfortable with the way the conversation is going._

"_Riku." Kairi prods. "You shouldn't just hold it back, you know." She admonishes. "One of these days you'll just snap and end up pinning him against the nearest solid object so you can ravish him."_

_Riku's eyes just about pop out of his head when Kairi says that. "Kairi!"_

_Kairi giggles. "Yes?" She asks, schooling her expression into one of complete innocence._

_Riku opens his mouth to say something but thinks better of it and closes his mouth. No doubt Kairi would get the best of him whether he says something or not._

"_Oh, don't be like that, Riku." Kairi says. _

"_Kairi! Riku! Help!" Sora yells from the dock._

_The two look up and are amused to see Sora fighting to reel in the only fish he has managed to ever catch. Some help he would have been if they had sailed out on their adventure, he can't even catch fish!_

"_Time for you to go help your damsel in distress." Kairi comments._

"_He's not a damsel." Riku retorts._

"_But he's in distress. I wonder if that fish is bigger than the biggest one you've caught." She wonders out loud._

"_Riku!" Sora yells again._

_Kairi rolls her eyes, fed up with Riku's reluctance, and gives him a shove toward the docks. "Just go help him already before the fish drags him into the water and you're forced to jump in an save him. _Go_!" She shoves him once again and this time Riku actually moves on his own to the docks to rescue their brunette friend._

_Minutes later Riku helps Sora finish reeling in the fish and they sit there and stare at the small thing flopping around on the dock._

"_That-" Riku pants. "Is not a fish. I don't know what the hell it is."_

"_Demon fish." Sora says. "So what are we going to do--"_

"_Oh it's so cute!" Kairi squeals upon seeing the teeny fish. "You're not going to kill it, are you?"_

_And so Kairi got her first pet._

* * *

"_Riku…" Sora gently breathes._

_Kairi looks over at her childish friend, an amused expression coming over her face. "What was that, Sora?"_

_Sora jumps a little. "Huh? Oh, nothing. Just wondering where Riku is with that ice cream." He looks around the beach to see if he can spot Riku and his bright white hair. "So which way did he go anyway?"_

"_Worried?"_

_Sora and Kairi turn around to see Riku standing behind them with three sea-salt ice creams. Kairi smiles and takes hers while Sora stumbles over words for a moment before Riku hands him his ice cream. Riku then takes a seat beside Sora, ignoring the grin he gets from Kairi, and calmly eats his ice cream._

_So intent on watching Riku eat his ice cream, Sora doesn't even notice his ice cream is melting until Kairi points it out._

"_Sora, your ice cream is melting. Why don't you stop staring at Riku and eat it?" Kairi says teasingly, giggling when Sora turns a light shade of red._

_Riku gives Kairi a look and then looks at Sora in concern. "Something wrong."_

"_N-no!" Sora squeaks before he takes a bite out of his ice cream._

_Riku and Kairi only have to wait a second or two before Sora shivers and raises one hand up to his head._

"_Ow, my head. I hate brain freeze." His teeth chatter._

"_I bet Riku would warm you up." Kairi comments._

"_KAIRI!" Both Sora and Riku shout._

_Kairi just smiles innocently and nibbles on her ice cream._

* * *

Hollow Bastion

Strifehart Living Room

Skylar, Roxas, Axel, and Demyx sit together in the living room, each one of them bored out of their skulls. Reno and Zexion are both working that evening and Naminé is baby-sitting some kids down the road from where she lives, thus the reason why they're bored. While Demyx and Axel are usually enough to keep things exciting, it's even better when they have someone to call them out on every little thing.

So now with no one to bother, they're all bored enough to sit in silence. Skylar is sitting on the recliner lifting weights while she stares off into space. Roxas is sitting on the floor flipping through an old magazine, not really looking at anything in it. Every now and then he glances up, feeling someone watching him. Axel is busy playing with a ball of fire while he watches Roxas, who he has liked since he met the small blonde. Funnily enough, everyone except Roxas knows about his crush. And then there is Demyx, who is sitting on the couch with Axel and is singing to a glass of water and watching it dance.

"Alright, we have got to do something." Skylar groans, trying to gently set aside her weights. Unfortunately she misjudges the distance in her boredom and then weights fall to the floor with an unusually loud bang and the floor creeks.

Axel and Demyx look at the floor in shock.

"Holy shit! I think you dented the floor, Sky!" Axel exclaims. "How heavy are those things?"

Skylar scratches the back of her neck sheepishly. "I don't know. Heavier than my swords."

"And that's damn heavy." Roxas comments. "I tried to move on out of the way of the bathroom door last night and nearly broke my back just trying to lift it off the ground enough to push it out of the way."

Axel and Demyx laugh while Skylar looks at Roxas in amusement and says, "You could have asked me to move it."

Roxas glares at his sister. "I would have, but you were too busy singing loudly in the shower again and couldn't hear me yelling. That's why I had to move your sword so I could bang on the door and tell you to get out."

Skylar looks thoughtful for a moment while Axel's laughter turned to choked snickers and Demyx just rolls his eyes while smiling broadly and rolls off the couch to go try and pick up the weights…

Only to nearly fall over backwards and send the weights flying through the air and smashing into the wall.

All present wince when they see the damage.

"Did I mention that the weight is Spelled?" Skylar asks after a moment. "It wore off after they hit the floor and then adjusted to your proper weight right before it left your hands."

Demyx looks up at the blonde girl, an annoyed look on his face. "You just might have forgotten to mention that, Strifehart."

Skylar smiles sheepishly. "Would it help it I said I was sorry?"

Demyx looks back over at the hole and mutters, "Not really. That won't save me from dying when your dads get home."

There's another moment of silence as they all just look at he hole in the wall.

"Sooo… who wants to go out for pizza?" Axel asks, breaking the silence.

"Lets go." Roxas says immediately.

Demyx and Skylar agree and before long the four teens are out the door and on their way to Pizza World.

* * *

Axel glares at all of the girls staring at him, Roxas, and Demyx and the guys staring at Skylar. "I now remember why I hate coming here." He hisses angrily, flames licking his fingertips.

Skylar, tense now that they're out in a crowded area with plenty of unfamiliar people, just grunts before she turns around and glares at the girls who are staring at her little brother. Obviously going out to eat at Pizza World wasn't the best idea in the world, but where Roxas wants to go Axel and Skylar let him go. As long as they're there with him that is.

"Chill, guys." Demyx says, completely unfazed by the stares. "It's not like they can do anything to us. And don't you have restraining orders on at least half of the people here, Axel?" He asks. "Or is it that _they _have restraining orders on _you_."

Axel glares at Demyx. "Shut up, water-boy."

Demyx falls silent, waiting until Axel looks away before he sticks out his tongue.

"We're not going to kill anyone." Roxas reminds them. "We will sit here and talk and ignore the people and will eat pizza." He narrows his eyes. "Do. You. Understand?"

Skylar and Demyx shiver while Axel remains unaffected by the boy's glare.

"Now, now, Roxy! You're doing it all wrong!" Axel says, laying an arm across Roxas's shoulders before he pokes the younger boy in the chest. "You're suppose to say: 'Got it memorized?' not 'Do you understand?'." He smirks. "Got it memorized?"

Roxas frowns and pushes Axel's arm off of his shoulders. "That's your catch phrase, not mine."

"I love you, Skylar!" A girl in the back of the restaurant yells out.

Demyx, who was making the water in his glass swirl around in the air, looses concentration at that yell and makes a strange noise in the back of his throat. Axel glances in the back and scowls when he sees who it is while Roxas smacks away Axel's hand, which is creeping toward him. Skylar smirks and turns around, giving the girl a wink. "Love you too, Rikku!"

"Time to go?" Axel asks, rubbing his sore wrist.

Skylar nods. "Time to go. I'll go find out waiter and tell him we want the pizza to go. You guys go on outside and wait for me before Roxas beats down any guy or girl who tries to touch him." She gives Axel a look. "And you control your fire."

Axel smiles innocently as they stand up and head out of Pizza World. "Now when have I ever--"

"Second grade." Demyx interrupts, sea-green eyes sparkling mischievously. "We had the psycho pink-haired teacher who loved flowers and you decided it'd be fun to torch his hanging basket."

"Just because I did that one time--"

"Third grade," Skylar interrupts the pyro this time. "Social Studies class with the teacher who liked guns far more than is healthy. You got frustrated when he tried to make us memorize dates of wars and lit the textbook on fire and _threw it at the teacher_." She rolls her eyes and waves down their waiter while the other three go outside to wait for her.

Outside, Roxas raises an eyebrow. "Why didn't I hear about that one?"

"You were sick." Demyx says. "And Skylar didn't want you to make yourself worse by screaming yourself hoarse because of Axel."

By now Axel is pretending to ignore them, fed up with their trip down memory lane that goes over the "few" times he lit things on fire at school.

Skylar walks out of the building with two boxes of pizza and three bags of breadsticks. "Did we mention the time in Fourth grade when--"

"Shut up!" Axel snaps.

Demyx and Skylar just laugh while Roxas rolls his eyes at their immaturity.

* * *

End Chapter

* * *

New Characters-

Rikku

Age: 16

Eye color: green

Hair color: blonde

Hair style: messy high ponytail with several braids and beads strung through it. A blue bandana covers her forhead back to her ponytail

She didn't even really come in this chapter, but she was briefly mentioned. She, Skylar, and Axel used to be good friends but something happened and she split apart from the two. Now she's frequently seen hanging out with her friends Yuna and Paine. She can't resist teasing Skylar sometimes, as the two are still on speaking terms.

Yuna

Age: 17

Eye color: blue-gray

Hair color: brown

Hair style: cut short in front but a red ribbon wraps around most of her hair down past her waist

Yuna will make an appearance later. She's one of Rikku's friends and doesn't really like Skylar and the rest of the crazy group all that well. She's not mean to them and she is polite and civil when she's around them, but she wouldn't make a point to go hang out with them. She's not very important to the plot though...

Paine

Age: 17 1/2

Eye color: dark amber

Hair color: gray-brown

Hair style: short and slightly spiked up

She'll also make an appearance later. She's another of Rikku's friends and like Yuna she doesn't really like Skylar and the rest of the crazy group. She's also not very important to the plot of this story.

0-0-0

Shiro: I just love writing about the little 'Hollow Bastion Miscreants'. Axel, Roxas, and Demyx are my absolute favorite Organization members. I got all upset when Roxas rejoined Sora and when I had to fight Demyx. And it broke my heart when Axel went and... and... (sniffles and then starts crying) I want my plushies!!! (runs off to find her nonexistant Axel, Roxas, and Demyx plushies)

Bast: Great... Shiro forgot to say that the Rikku, Paine, and Yuna that are in this story aren't treasure-hunting fairy-things like they are in the game. They're human. And she also forgot to say that Rikku is her favorite.

Shiro: (pops up with a mountainload of plushies and a t-shirt with chibi Axel, Roxas, Demyx, Sora, and Riku on it in Halloweentown style) Hello.

Bast: What's with the t-shirt and plushies.

Shiro: (looks down at them) Oh... these?

Bast: Yes. Those.

Shiro: That's simple! These are things I don't have in real life but would love to have! Except maybe more than one t-shirt with the adorable chibi's on it. Man, I wish I could draw chibi's well. And that I had photoshop again. Then I could photoshop to my hearts content and make cute t-shirts! One of these days...

Bast: (rolls eyes)

Shiro: Hey! Don't make fun of the cute ones! (sticks out tongue)

Bast: Wouldn't dream of it.

Shiro: (goes back to cuddling plushies)


	5. Chapter 5

And a quick reminder about the 4 OC's in this story:

Skylar Strifehart (16-years-old) (Leon and Cloud's daughter)

Sorika Kagi (15-years-old) (Riku and ? 's daughter)

Nerina (14-years-old) and Andrew (15-years-old) Tillmitt (Tidus and Selphie's daughter and son)

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy. I do, however, own Nerina, Andrew, Sorika, Skylar, and any other OC's made up for the purpose of this fanfiction.

* * *

Chapter 5

An entire month has passed since school let out and Sorika is still busy training with Sora. Skylar is still in Hollow Bastion hanging out with her younger brother and her friends there and they have all gotten into more than their share of trouble. Over on Destiny Island, Nerina and Andrew are having a fun, peaceful time.

While the kids are having fun, the adults are having a rough time trying to figure out what's going on in Hollow Bastion. On the first of the month Leon, Cloud, Aerith, Kairi, and Tifa meet up to give Yuffie the information they've found thus far.

"_Hello guys!" _Yuffie's cheerful voice rings out in the Strifehart living room as an image of the ninja girl flickers into view on the screen Kairi set up. _"How goes everything in the wonderful land of Hollow Bastion?"_

"No well, I'm afraid." Aerith says. "We've looked and listened everywhere and while we all agree that something weird is happening we just can't figure out what."

The screen flickers a little as Yuffie frowns.

"It wouldn't be Heartless again, would it?" Kairi asks worriedly.

Yuffie shakes her head. _"I don't think so. The computer system would have picked up on that. And anyway, King Mickey said Ansem destroyed all his old research so this wouldn't happen again."_

"If one person can find the door to darkness, what's to say no one else could do it?"Tifa argues. "It could very easily happen again. Or it could be someone who already knows about the door."

Yuffie is silent for a moment.

Aerith lays a calming hand on Tifa's shoulder. "Yuffie's right, Tifa. The computer system would have picked up on something if it were the Heartless or the Nobody's."

"_Sora's back."_

Everyone in the room freezes, except for Cloud who already knows that piece of information.

"Sora…?" Kairi breathes questioningly. "He's really back, Yuffie? Where is he? How is he? Can I talk to him? Please Yuffie!"

Yuffie sighs_. "Maybe I shouldn't have said that…" _She says to herself.

"Too late now, Yuffie." Leon says. "Now tell us what's going on over there before Kairi here explodes from a mixture of curiosity and anger."

"_Alright, alright." _Yuffie says placated. "_Sora's here and is training Sorika in the courtyard. And since two of you has no idea who Sorika even is, I'll just go ahead and say this: Sorika is Riku's daughter."_

Kairi's jaw drops. "Riku has a daughter?!"

"_Yup! White hair, blue eyes - I'd say she's Riku's." _Yuffie says in a joking tone.

"Focus, Yuffie." Cloud interrupts before Yuffie can go any farther with her teasing. "What does Sora being back have to do with what's going on here?"

"_It just seems like he knows something is going to happen." _Yuffie says. _"So I figured it might have something to do with him and the key blade. Kairi, have you tried using yours to find out anything? It might be able to help."_

Kairi shakes her head. "No, I haven't really seen the need to. Do you think it'll work?"

"_It's worth a shot!"_

"I'll give it a try when we go out next." Kairi says. "Is there anything else you think we should try?"

Yuffie thinks for a moment. "_No… at least, there's nothing I can think of. I'll ask the others when I get the chance. For now, just keep poking around and hope you find something!"_

"Great." Leon grumbles.

"_Alright! Yuffie out!" _Before anyone can protest, the screen goes out and Yuffie's image disappears.

"Damn it, Yuffie!" Kairi yells. "You didn't answer any of my questions about Sora! I'm gonna-"

"Leave it be, Kairi." Tifa says. "We'll make sure she doesn't get away next time, so hold your questions until next month."

A look of disappointment crosses Kairi's face and she looks away and sighs. "It's just… this is the first news I've heard of Sora." She looks over at Aerith. "Does… does _he _know?"

Aerith shakes her head. "No, Riku doesn't know he's back yet. It's all up to Sora."

Kairi smiles a little. "Nice to know one thing hasn't changed. It seems like it's _always _up to Sora." She stands up and steps toward the door. "I guess questions will have to wait. I've got to get home and get started on dinner before Hayner and Naminé start worrying. I'll see you all tomorrow!" With a short wave, Kairi leaves the Strifehart house and heads home, hoping she still has a home with the Hollow Bastion Miscreants all over there for the day.

* * *

Back in Destiny Gardens, Sorika is out in the courtyard being trained by Sora just like she has every day for the past month. Sora sits on a nearby bench, watching her in an almost bored state.

"Stop." Sora suddenly yells out.

Sorika stops, looking hopefully at Sora. She's been practicing the same thing for over an hour now and she's beginning to get tired and frustrated by it. She lets her arms drop a little and loosens her grip on the wooden sword.

"You're not putting enough energy into it." Sora says. "You need to push more energy into it. I want Yuffie to be able to feel it from way up in her office. Don't use so much strength that it wears you down so fast that you can't keep a steady flow of energy coursing through it."

"Why don't you do it if you're so good at it!" Sorika yells, completely fed up with the training. "What's the point of this anyway?"

"Just do it." Sora says, waving a hand in a bored manner. "When you get it right you can take a break and go eat lunch." He has to hide a smile when Sorika's energy level grows with her anger. "Go on." He prods.

Sorika clenches her fist around the wooden sword, wishing for all the world that she could just throw the thing away and use her wakizashi to fight Sora. Instead she turns away from her instructor and pushes more energy into the wooden sword.

"More." Sora yells out.

Sorika grits her teeth and lets the fiery red energy burst freely onto the wooden sword. And then she swings it and the entire thing explodes in a bright light. She lifts one arm up to shield her eyes while Sora leaps up from his bench and watches closely, hope in his eyes.

The light slowly dies down and Sorika looks up to see something different in place of the sword. The thing floats down to Sorika and hovers in front of her. As if compelled by a greater force, she reaches out and takes the thing and the light fades away completely. "What…? What is this?"

"That is a key blade." Sora says, walking over to her. "This is the reason I was pushing you. Using a key blade isn't easy and I had to make sure you were ready. May I?" He holds out a hand, a silent gesture to hand the key blade to him.

Sorika hesitates a moment and then hands it to him. "What's a key blade?"

Sora doesn't answer, looking over the new key blade. It begins as a normal key blade and then splits into two blades connected together by bars. The one on top is wavy and ends curving upward. The bottom piece is straight, with the actual key-like part on it. The entire thing is in varying shades of blue and a heart key chain is attached to the very end.

"A key blade is a very unique weapon that can only be wielded by special people." Sora says as he hands it back to her. "You're very special to be able to use that."

Sorika looks at the key blade for a moment before she looks back up at Sora. "What does yours look like?" She asks.

"Mine…?" Sora looks down at his hands. "Mine has different forms. I'll show you some other time." He offers her a small smile. "Now go get yourself something to eat and take a break. I've got a certain ninja to talk to."

* * *

Twenty minutes later Sora finds himself sitting down in Yuffie's office as the ninja princess rummages through her mini-fridge in search of something to drink. Eventually she finds something and grabs two; one for her and one for Sora. With her drink hunt complete, she shut the door to the mini-fridge and goes and sits down across from Sora. "Here you go! I hope you like paopu juice, we get it specially imported from Destiny Island."

Sora smiles softly as he takes the drink. "You know, back when I was growing up sharing a paopu with someone meant you'd be with that person forever."

Yuffie laughs. "That's the same thing Riku and the others have told me a thousand times. I think the idea's really cute."

Sora pouts a little. "It's not just an idea, Yuffie. It's real."

"Sora."

Sora looks up from studying the drink. "Huh?"

Yuffie looks a little amused. "Drink your juice."

Sora rolls his eyes but twists the cap off the bottle and takes a sip. The sweet taste of paopu floods his taste buds and he breaths out softly. "It's been years since I've tasted this." He says softly. "Funny, what it takes to start missing something."

Yuffie hums in agreement, too busy drinking her own paopu juice to say much more.

For a few minutes the two sit in silence and enjoy their drinks. Yuffie is the first to finish and instead of waiting for Sora to finish his own she decides to bring up a tough subject.

"Sora, have you thought at all about going to see Riku?" She asks gently. "I'm sure he'd love to see you again."

Sora lowers the bottle and sets it down on the table. "Yuffie… it's been sixteen years. Things have changed between us."

"Are you sure about that?" Yuffie challenges.

Sora frowns. "Yuffie, he's a father now. He has a daughter! A daughter that you neglected to tell me that you wanted me to train! Why--"

"Sora." Yuffie cuts off the brunette. "Think back to when Sorika told you she was Riku's daughter. She must have been asking you something important."

Sora nods. "Yeah, she asked me if I knew her mother. What does that have to do with anything?"

"Go see Riku." Yuffie says firmly, easily avoiding Sora's question. "I'll keep Sorika over here for the night so that your reunion won't be interrupted. I'm sure you know where he lives, since I caught you looking through my address book yesterday so you could write it down."

Sora blushes. He has done just that. "Alright, Yuffie." He gives in. "I'll… I'll go. Better sooner than later, right?" He forces a grin and then gets up from his chair and heads for the door, paopu juice in hand.

"Hey Sora."

Sora turns around just in time to catch a star shaped object Yuffie throws to him. It's a paopu.

"Don't forget to share it with Riku this time, alright?" Yuffie says with a wink.

Sora blushes an even deeper shade of red than before and mutters his thanks before he practically runs out of Yuffie's office. Yuffie just stands up and tosses her bottle in the trashcan before she walks over to the wall and takes down her giant shuriken. Her brown eyes glint as she runs her hands over one of the sharp blades. "Lets go see what Sorika's got."

* * *

End chapter.

* * *

Shiro: Okay, so Yuffie sounds a little "evil" in the last paragraph, but she's not. She's just come up with an idea and is determined to see it through. I could never make Yuffie evil, since she's one of the cool female characters. (hugs Yuffie plushie) Yay for the Great Ninja Yuffie!

Kyle: What's a paopu?

Shiro and Keitaro: (look at Kyle in shock)

Shiro: How dare you not know what a paopu is! You- you- none video game playing fairy!

Kyle: Stop calling me a fairy! I'm a fae!

Shiro: Same difference.

Kyle: No, fairies are little bitty things like Rikku, Paine, and Yuna are in that game you play. Fae are normal sized!

Keitaro: How can you know about the little thieving fairies but not know about the paopu! For shame!

Bast: Ignore the idiots, Kyle. A paopu is some strange fruit native to Destiny Island.

Kyle: (looks interested) A fruit?

Bast: (groans as Shiro and Keitaro launch into in-depth descriptions of the paopu) They'll be at this for hours and then Kyle will run off to try and find the thing. I'm leaving before they drag me into it. (leaves)

Reviews help feed plot kitties! Okay, and I love reading them. Who doesn't?

**Next time**: _Sora goes to see Riku, Sorika gets to know Haruko, and the Hollow Bastion Miscreants are up to no good._


	6. Chapter 6

And a quick reminder about the 4 OC's in this story:

Skylar Strifehart (16-years-old) (Leon and Cloud's daughter)

Sorika Kagi (15-years-old) (Riku and ? 's daughter)

Nerina (14-years-old) and Andrew (15-years-old) Tillmitt (Tidus and Selphie's daughter and son)

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy. I do, however, own Nerina, Andrew, Sorika, Skylar, and any other OC's made up for the purpose of this fanfiction.

Chapter 6

Sora nervously stands on the porch of a light blue-gray colored one-story house. A small piece of paper rests loosely between the fingertips of his right hand. "Breathe, Sora." He reminds himself. "Baby steps." He breathes in deeply and then slowly exhales before he raises a hand and pushes the button for the doorbell.

"It's open!" Riku yells.

Sora hesitates a moment, wondering if this is really a good idea. The thought of Yuffie scolding him runs through his head and he decides it'll just be better to go along with Yuffie's idea. Sora closes his eyes and takes another deep breath as he rests a hand on the doorknob. Then he opens his eyes and goes into the house without hesitation.

"I'm in the kitchen, Yuffie!"

'_Yuffie, you're not making things any easier for me.' _Sora grumbles in his mind. He had expected that Riku would answer the door and Sora would have an easy escape route if he were to panic. But now he's inside Riku's house which means Riku has an advantage over him.

Sora stops a moment to slip off his shoes. While he does so, he takes a look at the few pictures of Riku and Sorika that are on the walls. A few of the pictures have Selphie, Tidus, and their kids in them, or the pictures have Yuffie in them.

"Yuffie, what--" Riku stops short when he steps into the hallway and sees that it's not Yuffie who is standing in his house but someone he thought he would never see again. "Sora…" He whispers, his eyes wide.

Sora trembles a little as he takes in the form of his old friend. The familiar locks of silver colored hair are cut shorter than when he last saw Riku and are pulled back by a piece of ribbon. Gone are the clothes that showed off his figure so well. In replace of them are sweatpants and a t-shirt. "Riku…" Sora whispers. Then he gaze drops to the ground.

An awkward silence falls over the two of them. Neither Sora nor Riku know what to say to one another after sixteen years of separation.

Sora shuffles his feet a little and then looks up at Riku. "You…" He falters and then quickly collects himself and continues. "You look well." He says lamely.

Riku says nothing in return and Sora, thinking Riku's angry with him, drops his gaze back to the ground. When Sora hears light footsteps on the carpeted floor he looks up just as Riku envelops him in a hug.

"Don't you _ever _do that to me again." Riku whispers, tightening his hold on Sora. Tears prick at his eyes, but he holds them back. He's always been the strong one between them and he doesn't want that to change now.

Sora hugs Riku back and lets his eyes close as they fill with tears. "I won't, Riku. I promise."

0-0-0

Yuffie hums cheerfully as she helps Sorika to the apartment she shares with Cid. Sorika, on the other hand, is not as cheerful as Yuffie since she got beaten up pretty badly with Yuffie's training from Hell.

"That was fun!" Yuffie says cheerfully. "I haven't had a chance to train with anyone in a long time. You know, other than Cloud and Leon. Riku's always so busy." She sticks out her tongue, showing just how she feels about that. "And Aerith doesn't fight."

Sorika groans when she bumps into the wall. "I am never fighting against you again." She mutters.

"Never ever?" Yuffie asks.

"Never ever." Sorika agrees. "Muscles I didn't even know I had are aching."

Yuffie lets go of Sorika's shoulders to fish out her key and unlock the door. "That's the whole point of training, silly." She fumbles with the key a bit, trying to figure out which way the key goes in. Finally she figures it out and gets the door unlocked. "There we go! Now lets go get some ice for that nasty bruise of yours."

"Your fault, not mine." Sorika mutters under her breath. She follows Yuffie into the apartment and into the kitchen area where they find Haruko cooking. After greeting her rival for Andrew's love, Sorika turns her attention back to Yuffie, who is now gathering ice from the freezer. "Why didn't Sora come back for my training?" She asks as she sits down. She winces when her back comes in contact with the chair.

Yuffie doesn't answer. She's pretending she didn't hear Sorika's question over the sound of the ice grating together. She finishes up with more noise than is necessary and then tosses the icepack to Sorika.

"You shouldn't put that directly on your skin." Haruko remarks. "You need a cloth between the icepack and your skin."

Yuffie snaps her fingers. "I knew I forgot something!" She then opens the nearest drawer and pulls out a small hand towel. She hands it over to Sorika, who puts it over the icepack, and then she sits down across from Sorika. "So, what were you asking me earlier?"

Sorika breathes a sigh of relief when the coolness of the icepack comes in contact with the bruise on her thigh. "I was asking why Sora didn't come back to train me." She says. "I mean, he said he was going to."

"Something came up." Yuffie says. "And I couldn't pass up the opportunity to train you myself, so I took it! With some training you'd make a good ninja."

Sorika rolls her eyes. "Yuffie, you've said that since I was a little girl."

"And it's the truth!" Yuffie stubbornly says. "If you'd let me put you through training, you would make a great ninja! And besides," She looks out the kitchen window. "I need someone who will take over for me when I'm gone."

Over at the stove, Haruko drops the spoon onto the floor. At the table Sorika looks at Yuffie with a mixture of shock and surprise.

"But that won't be for a long time so I've got plenty of time to train you!" Yuffie takes her gaze off of the window and looks around the room to Haruko. "You alright?"

Haruko nods and then bends down and picks up the spoon. "I'm fine, Aunt Yuffie. Just a little surprised is all."

Yuffie nods in understanding and then looks back at Sorika. "So what do you say, Sorika? Do you want to be a great ninja like me?"

Sorika considers the proposition for a moment and then she nods. "Yes. I say yes."

Yuffie cheers and then bounds over and hugs Sorika.

0-0-0

_Hollow Bastion/Radiant Gardens - Firehaven Residence_

Reno and Skylar relax together up in Reno's bedroom. Skylar is sprawled out on Reno's bed on her side trying to read an old comic book and Reno is lying on the floor actually reading an old comic book.

After five minutes of rereading the same line over and over again, Skylar gives up and pushes the comic aside. "Hey, Reno?"

"Huh?"

Skylar rolls over onto her stomach and tucks a stray piece of hair behind her head. "Is Axel angry with me?" She asks, her blue eyes troubled.

Reno looks up from his book, a questioning look in his eyes. "What do you mean?"

Skylar sighs. "It's just that…. A few days ago I got a phone call when Axel was over playing video games with Roxas and I. A phone call from Rikku."

"Rikku?" Reno asks with a frown. "Isn't she that hyperactive girl we used to hang out with when we were little? The blonde one who wore orange all the time?"

Skylar nods. "She asked me if I wanted to hang out some time this summer and I… I said yes. Should I have done that?"

"Depends." Reno replies. "Do you want to hang out with her?"

"Of course!" Skylar exclaims. She immediately sobers up and looks down at the ground after her outburst. "What happened when we were kids… It was a stupid misunderstanding. And then I had to go to Destiny Gardens and that just made it worse an--"

"Stop." Reno orders. "It's not your fault that the three of you drifted apart. Back to the actual subject, I take it that Axel overheard this conversation."

Skylar nods again. "He did."

"Then I'd say yeah, he is mad." Reno says. "But there's not much you can do about it until he cools off. Next to Roxas, you're one of the people he cares deeply for. He won't stay angry for too long. But you know what would make him happy?"

Skylar laughs. "Yeah. A date with Roxas."

Reno laughs as well. "That would work. But you know what else would make him happy?"

Skylar shakes her head.

"A hug and some chocolate." At Skylar's incredulous look he defends his idea. "I'm serious! Other than Roxas, Axel's biggest weaknesses are chocolates, hugs, and puppies!"

"So I just need to find some chocolates shaped like puppies and give Axel a hug while I'm giving him the chocolates." Skylar says in an amused tone. "Reno, this has to be the funniest thing you've come up with all summer."

Reno shrugs. "It's a gift." He tries to go back to reading his comic book, but Skylar stops him.

"Lets go find some chocolates shaped like puppies, then." Skylar says determinedly. "I can't have one of my very best friends angry with me for half of summer just because I go hang out with a person I know he hates! Lets go, Reno!"

"Why am I always dragged into this stuff?" Reno asks. "Every time. Every single time."

"You're just lucky, I guess." Skylar tells him. "Ready to go?"

Reno looks forlornly at his comic book and decides it's not worth having Skylar's puppy-eyes weaken him until he ends up paying for the chocolate and buying an actual puppy that he'll end up taking care of. "Lets go." He says with a sigh.

Skylar smiles and rolls off the bed so she lands on Reno before he can get up. She then wraps her arms around his neck. "Love you bunches, No-no!" She says childishly.

Reno groans. "Love you too, La-la. Now get off. You're heavy. _Heavy_, not fat!" He says before she can claim he called her fat.

Skylar pouts. "You take the fun out of everything, No-no."

"Childish brat." Reno says without really meaning it. "Please get off?"

Skylar pretends to think about it for a few seconds and then gets off of Reno's back. After making sure Reno's not sneaking his comic book along with them under his shirt, Skylar drags the redhead out of the house and into the cobblestone streets of Radiant Gardens, which is best known as Hollow Bastion.

"Look Reno! A pet shop!"

"Absolutely not!"

Skylar just laughs and proceeds to drag Reno to the candy store.

0-0-0

Over at the Strifehart house, Axel and Roxas are sitting in the living room listening to music and doing basically nothing. The two aren't even talking to one another, which is unusual because Axel loves talking to Roxas.

Roxas soon grows tired of the nothingness and decides he needs to talk to Axel about Skylar. "Axel."

Axel doesn't even look over at Roxas when the blonde calls his name.

Roxas huffs in frustration and then grabs a couch cushion and throws it at Axel's head. "AXEL!"

The combination of Roxas yelling at him and the pillow hitting him in the head snaps Axel out of his daydream. "What?" He snaps. When he sees that it's Roxas trying to get his attention he softens his tone. "What's up, Roxas?" He asks, hoping his tone will convince Roxas that nothing is wrong.

Roxas is not convinced.

"Skylar says that you're angry with her." Roxas says, narrowing his eyes. "Why?"

Axel scowls and looks away. "It's nothing."

Roxas reaches for another couch cushion. "Tell me what is going on NOW!" He yells before he throws a second couch pillow at the redhead.

Axel yelps and pushes away the pillow. "What was that for!? You asked me what was wrong but there's nothing wrong!"

"Fine!" Roxas yells back.

The two seethe in silence for a few minutes before Roxas gets an idea. Pretending that he's still really angry with Axel he stomps off into the kitchen and gets a class of water. Then he sneaks back into the living room, sets down the glass of water near where Axel is sitting, and then tackles Axel to the ground, pinning him there.

"Now!" Roxas grabs the glass of water and holds it threateningly over Axel's head. "You _will _tell me what the hell is going on!"

Axel pales at the sight of the glass of water. Fire and water doesn't mix very well, apparently. Or more likely, Axel's hair and water don't mix. "Okay, fine! I'm pissed because Skylar is going to go hang out with that Rikku bitch! Are you happy now?"

"No." Roxas states simply. "And I wouldn't try and flip me over, if I were you. Remember, I have a glass of water and I know how to use it!" He tips the glass a little. "Now tell me what's so bad about Skylar hanging out with this Rikku girl."

Axel scowls. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Talk anyway." Roxas says stubbornly.

Axel is silent for a moment or two before he gives in. "Skylar, Reno, and I used to hang out with Rikku when we were little kids. About a year before we met you Rikku met these two girls, her cousin Yuna and this strange girl named Paine, and we drifted apart slowly at first. And then one day Rikku killed my pet Fluffy!"

Roxas looks at Axel in disbelief. "You hate her because she killed your pet Fluffy?"

Axel nods.

"Axel, that's the most ridiculous thing ever." Roxas says.

"And she broke Skylar's heart."

This time there's a moment of silence.

"What?" Roxas asks. "Axel, I don't know if you haven't noticed, but Skylar's not gay. And she's obviously not angry with Skylar."

Axel sighs. "It wasn't really her who broke Skylar's heart. There was this guy they both liked. Skylar liked him first and Rikku heard about him so much and actually talked to him that she got a crush on him too. And then one day at school Rikku couldn't help herself and gave him a kiss. It was just a small one on the cheek, but it was enough for Skylar to get pissed and throw a fit. I think that was the most surprising thing her dads have had to face in all sixteen years." He sounds slightly amused at that. He sighs and mumbles, "But it was for the best. Reno would have pounded the guy if Skylar had 'dated' him." He draws air quotes around the word "dated".

Roxas frowns and sets down the glass of water. "Why would Reno have beaten him up?" He asks.

Axel's face shows an expression of fear for a moment, but it's gone in a millisecond. "No reason. I mean, Skylar and I have been friends since we were babies and Reno was always there with us. It's only normal that Reno's a little protective."

Roxas narrows his eyes. "Reno likes her."

Axel gulps. "Well-"

"I'll kill him!" Roxas roars, starting to get up.

Axel takes the opportunity to flip Roxas over so that he's the one being pinned down. He leans down with a smirk until their noses are barely an inch apart. "Now why would you want to do that when you could stay here with me?"

Roxas gulps and his face begins to turn red. Axel leans closer and Roxas turns even redder.

"A-Axel." Roxas stutters.

"Roxas." Axel whispers, before he bends down and plants a kiss on Roxas's cheek. Before the little blonde can comprehend what happened Axel is off of the floor and sitting on the couch humming a little tune.

Once Roxas overcomes his shock he stands up, picking up the glass of water as he does so. He smirks. "Oh, Aaaaxeeelll…!"

"Huh?"

There's a splash and a fizzing noise.

"AHHH! MY HAIR!"

Roxas just laughs as Axel's hair begins to poof up.

"It's not funny, Roxas!"

0-0-0-0

End Chapter.

0-0-0

Shiro: I just love ending chapters on happy and sometimes funny scenes. And Rikku would like you all to know that the death of Fluffy was completely accidental. There are a lot of pets named Fluffy in this story. There was Sorika's guinea pig and now Axel's unknown pet named Fluffy. Lets call it a turtle, shall we?

Bast: Turtles aren't fluffy. They don't have fur!

Axel: So sue me! I was four when I named him!

Shiro: Well, now you know what Yuffie's idea was from the last chapter. Oh, and there's like, two more chapters left of this story. I just love short fanfictions. I don't get easily distracted or bored when I'm writing them. Yay! Now to work on that Yugioh fic...

Reviews help feed plot kitties! I just love hearing what people think about what I write or what you think I should fix.


	7. Chapter 7

And a quick reminder about the 4 OC's in this story:

Skylar Strifehart (16-years-old) (Leon and Cloud's daughter)

Sorika Kagi (15-years-old) (Riku and ? 's daughter)

Nerina (14-years-old) and Andrew (15-years-old) Tillmitt (Tidus and Selphie's daughter and son)

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy. I do, however, own Nerina, Andrew, Sorika, Skylar, and any other OC's made up for the purpose of this fanfiction.

* * *

Chapter 7

_Destiny Gardens_

Sorika staggers in the door to her house after spending the night and the whole morning with Yuffie, Cid, and Haruko. In the short time she spent with them, Sorika has been set on a strict diet and exercise program and given weights to wear to strengthen her endurance. She also has a third training schedule added on to her daily routine.

"Dad, I'm home!" She calls as she slips off her shoes.

Laughter coming from the living room catches Sorika's attention. She frowns in confusion and walks down the hall to look into the living room. She looks in the room and her eyes widen in surprise when she sees her dad and Sora sitting on the couch talking and laughing. It's the most cheerful that she has ever seen her dad.

"Dad?" She asks.

Riku looks up in surprise, the smile fading from his face a little. Sora looks up at her as well and his smile wavers a moment.

"Sorika, where have you been?" Riku asks, more than angry at himself for not worrying about where his daughter is. His anger unintentionally leaks into his voice a little.

Sorika tugs her bad further up on her shoulder, noticing the anger in her father's voice. "Yuffie made me stay with her overnight." She explains.

"Oh." Riku looks a little relieved._ 'Of course she stayed with Yuffie. I'm certain that is was Yuffie who convinced Sora to come here anyway.' _He glances over at Sora for a moment, confused by the less-than-happy look on his friend's face. Then he looks back over at his daughter. "Sorika, this is--"

"Sora. I know." Sorika says. "He's teaching me how to use a key blade. Didn't Yuffie tell you?" She asks.

Riku rolls his eyes toward the ceiling and mutters something degrading about a certain black-haired ninja. "It must have slipped her mind."

Sorika shifts her feet uneasily. She wracks her brain for some way to escape the tension in the room. "I'm going to go change." She hurriedly says before rushing off to her room.

Riku and Sora remain silent for a minute or two. The silence envelops them and makes it difficult for either of them to know what to say.

"So, you've been training Sorika?" Riku tries to strike up a conversation.

Sora nods. "When I got here and went to see Yuffie she dropped the news on me. She didn't even tell me that Sorika's your daughter. I found out for myself when she asked if I knew you. That was about a month ago."

"But why key blade training?" Riku asks. "The heartless are gone, right?" When Sora hesitates, not wanting to tell Riku the truth, Riku gently prods him. "Sora?"

"The heartless will never be gone, Riku." Sora says softly. "There will always be darkness in the hearts of people. But at least now there are more people to fight them. The worlds that have been invaded are all ones that have people capable of fighting them."

"So they're more attracted to people with strong hearts?" Riku asks.

"Yeah, so no more running around to strange worlds anymore." Sora breathes a sigh of relief and then gives Riku a smile. "So you can't get rid of me now. I'm back for good."

"You're not going back to Destiny Island?" Riku asks curiously.

Sora shakes his head. "No. Too many memories. What about you?"

"Same here."

* * *

_Sora sighs for the umpteenth time in the past ten minutes and Kairi gives him an annoyed look. Unfortunately for her, they're in class and so she can't try and talk to him. Instead she decides to crumple up a piece of paper and throw it at him. She giggles when it sticks in his spiky hair._

"_Miss Heartstone, would you care to explain to the class what you find so amusing?" The teacher asks._

_Kairi flushes in embarrassment and shakes her head quickly. She would rather wait until after class to talk to Sora rather than get in trouble for passing notes now that the teacher is keeping an eye on her._

_Fortunately, she doesn't have to wait for too long before the bell rings. She catches Sora before he can sneak off like he's done in every other class and drags him down the hallway to an empty classroom so they can talk._

"_Alright, you." Kairi puts her hands on her hips and stares down Sora. "What's with you today? You've been sighing and staring off into space ever since history class!"_

"_It's nothing, Kairi." Sora tries to convince the redhead._

_Kairi gives him an unconvinced look. "It most certainly is not nothing! Tell me what it is, Sora, or I'll go and get Riku and get him to get you to talk!" A predatorily smirk crosses her face when Sora blushes at the mention of Riku. "Ah, so this is a Riku problem."_

_Sora's eyes widen in alarm. "No! No, it's not!"_

_Kairi giggles and clasps her hands behind her back. "Sora likes Riku!" She sings. "Sora's got a crush on Riku!"_

_Sora frantically waves his hands, trying to get Kairi to stop singing. It only serves to make Kairi giggle more and start singing the most infamous of the teasing songs._

"_Sora and Riku sitting in a tree!"_

"_Kairi!" Sora bemoans. "Stop!"_

_Kairi giggles again and stops singing. "I'm just teasing you, silly." She puts her hands back on her hips. "Now tell me this, Sora Hikari; have you been sighing over Riku all morning?"_

_Sora avoids Kairi's gaze. "Yeah…" To hiss surprise, Kairi squeals in happiness. "Kairi, what-?"_

"_This is great!" She exclaims, grabbing Sora's hand. "Lets go find Riku!"_

_Sora does what any normal person would do and panics. "What?! Wait- no Kairi!"_

_Kairi won't take no for an answer and drags Sora through the hallways to the lunchroom. That's not to say Sora didn't put up a good fight. He even escaped once or twice, even if it was only for a few seconds. He's just no match for Kairi when she's determined to do something._

_In the lunchroom they find Riku getting ready to sit down at their usual table. Before he has a chance to sit down, Kairi grabs his hand and tugs both boys back out into the hall to locate an empty classroom. Sora continues to struggle but Riku follows willingly, although a feeling of dread does make him want to bolt._

_The first classroom they come across is empty so they use that one for their discussion. Kairi makes sure to stand between the two boys and the door so they won't escape._

"_Alright. Riku, Sora has something he wants to tell you." Kairi says._

"_What?!" Sora exclaims. "Kairi, I do not!"_

"_Then you explain to him why you've been sighing and staring off into space all day." Kairi says. She puts her hands on her hips once again, determined not to let Sora get away with not telling Riku. "Go on."_

_Riku looks between Sora and Kairi. His feeling of dread increases but he's also curious about what's going on. _

_Sora stubbornly keeps his mouth closed and looks away._

"_I'll buy you ice cream every day for a month." Kairi prods, knowing Sora can't resist ice cream. "Come on, Sora. Think about it. Ice cream for a month if you tell Riku."_

_Sora stays quiet, although he seems to think about the offer._

_Kairi stamps her foot when Sora remains quiet for nearly a minute. "Sora! If you don't tell him then I will!"_

"_No!" Sora yelps. _

"_If I leave the room, will you tell him?" Kairi asks._

_Sora hesitates a minute and then nods. "I promise, Kairi."_

_Kairi smiles and leaves the room. 'It's about time.'_

_

* * *

_

_Sora and Riku lay on the beach of their play island together, hand-in-hand._

"_Hey Riku, we'll always be friends, right?" Sora asks, his blue eyes worried._

_Riku looks at Sora in confusion and sits up. "Of course we will. Why?"_

_Sora sits up as well and pulls his knees against his chest. He stares out at the ocean. "I… I don't know." He fibs, avoiding meeting Riku's look of concern. _

_Both of them are silent for a moment._

"_If I had to go away, you wouldn't be angry with me, would you?" Sora asks._

"_Maybe for a while." Riku admits. He takes Sora's chin and makes the smaller boy look at him. "But I'd be more angry at myself for letting you leave. You're not planning on leaving, are you?"_

_Sora wordlessly hands Riku two envelopes. One of them is open and addressed to Sora and the other is closed and addressed to Riku. "They're from Merlin and King Mickey." Sora quietly explains. It should explain everything." He stands up and brushes sand from his pants. "I need to get home. I'll… see you."_

_Riku watches as Sora runs off and then he turns his attention to the letters. He reads the letter for Sora fist and shakily sets it aside when he's finished. He fights back tears and wins, although his heart aches with each breath he takes. He wait's a few minutes and then opens his envelope from Merlin and King Mickey. He unfolds the letter and sneezes when a strange dust blows into his face. Riku ignores the odd powder and begins reading his letter. His heart lightens more and more with each word that he reads and by the time he's done his heart is racing in his chest._

_He grabs Sora's letter from where it fell in the sand and stuffs both letters into his pocket before dashing to his boat to get back to the main island. He has a certain brunet to see._

_

* * *

_

_Hollow Bastion- Sunset Boulevard_

Skylar stands outside a small blue house trying to decide if it's a good idea to have a sleepover with Rikku. Before she can decide for herself the door opens to reveal Rikku standing there with a broad smile on her face.

"Skylar, you're here!" Rikku happily squeals. She grabs Skylar's arm and tugs her into the house. "I'm so happy you're finally here! We're going to have so much fun tonight!"

Skylar lets Rikku drag her through the house without putting up much of a fight. She remembers from childhood that the best way to handle Rikku is to let her do what she wants as long as it's within reason.

"Skylar, won't you let me do your hair?" Rikku asks pleadingly. She pouts and bats her eyelashes, which makes Skylar laugh.

"Alright, alright!" Skylar gives in. "Just don't get it all tangled up like you did when we were kids."

Rikku just cheers and tugs Rikku into her bedroom, happy to finally be able to style her old friends hair. It's something she's wanted to do for a while after noticing that Skylar always wore her hair down or in a low ponytail.

Rikku makes Skylar sit down on her bed and then collects a hairbrush, comb, and a tin she keeps her hair beads, clips, pins, and bands in. Then she hops over to the bed and makes Skylar turn around. She begins humming a tune as she brushes Skylar's hair.

"Nothing too crazy." Skylar tells her. "That's all I ask."

Rikku smiles. "So does that mean I can use scissors, or no?" She asks, wondering how far she can take the hair styling.

Skylar hesitates a minute, unsure of whether she trusts Rikku with a sharp object near her head or not. Feeling daring she says, "Sure. Why not."

Rikku looks surprised but shrugs it off and continues brushing Skylar's hair. "Alright then! Prepare to be amazed!"

* * *

"Roxas, I'm home!" Skylar yells into the unusually quiet house.

"Repairing the hole!" Roxas yells back, his voice coated with agitation.

Skylar walks into the living room and smiles at the sight of Demyx, Roxas, and Axel trying to figure out the best way to patch up the hole in the wall. Naminé and Zexion are sitting on the couch watching the three.

When they notice that Skylar is in the room they all look over to say a quick 'hi' before going back to doing what they were before. Then they all do a double take, unsure if they saw Skylar correctly.

"Skylar, what happened to you?" Roxas asks, shocked by his sister's new look.

Skylar grins and spins around, which causes her dark blue, knee-length skirt to flare out and multiple beads in her hair clink together. "You don't like it?"

Axel scowls and looks back at the wall.

"It's…" Roxas searches for the right word. "Different. Did you cut your hair?"

Skylar nods. "Yeah. Rikku wanted to do my hair and then insisted that we go shopping. And let me tell you, trying to talk Rikku out of doing something is like trying to convince Axel that water isn't evil."

Axel mutters something under his breath and Skylar scowls. The others look at Axel in surprise, wondering why he didn't make a loud remark on how water is the bane of the universe.

"Everyone out." Skylar says, staring straight at Axel's back. "Axel needs some sense beat into him like usual."

Zexion, Naminé, Roxas, and Demyx file out of the room to go to the backyard. Something similar has happened before with them all there and they've all sworn not to interfere again.

It doesn't take Skylar too long to knock some sense into Axel, in a very literal sense. The two of then tend to solve arguments or disagreements with one another by actually fighting before they talk. No one's been able to figure out how they solve things that way, but it's just the way their friendship works.

Axel and Skylar nurse their wounds, a few bruises, carpet burn, and a scratch or two, while they talk. They don't talk about Rikku though, at least not at first. When the subject is brought up, it's Axel who brings it up.

"So, are you going to dress like that from now on and start hanging out with Rikku all the time?" He asks.

Skylar makes a face. "Hell no!" She exclaims. "But I'm not going to not hang out with Rikku. She's my friend, Axel. And anyway, this is the only thing I got when she dragged me off to go shopping. Well, and this." She takes a small box out of her pocket and hands it to Axel. "I saw it and just knew you had to have it."

Axel eagerly opens the box and grins when he sees a lighter with flames and the number 8 printed on it.

"And there's a thing of lighter fluid that's out in the backyard along with a whole stack of logs." Skylar mentions. "We also have hot dogs and marshmallows."

Axel grins and gets up. "Lets go forget the wall and burn logs instead! To the yard!" With his new lighter in tow, he runs from the room, happy to be able to light something on fire and not get in trouble for it.

Skylar laughs and watches as he leaves. When she hears him shout, "Burn, logs! Burn!" She gets up and heads to the backyard to make sure Axel doesn't go too crazy with the lighter fluid. It has happened before.

* * *

End chapter

* * *

Bast: (gasps) What's this? An update? The world is going to end! (falls over)

Shiro: It hasn't been _that _long.

Bast: It's been over a month, baka.

Shiro: (glares) I know that! You don't have to remind me!

Bast: Hmm... Now if you would write all of your chapters in two days we wouldn't have this problem, now would we?

Shiro: Shut up, Bast. Just shut up.

One more chapter to go!


	8. Chapter 8

And a quick reminder about the 4 OC's in this story:

Skylar Strifehart (16-years-old) (Leon and Cloud's daughter)

Sorika Kagi (15-years-old) (Riku and ? 's daughter)

Nerina (14-years-old) and Andrew (15-years-old) Tillmitt (Tidus and Selphie's daughter and son)

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy. I do, however, own Nerina, Andrew, Sorika, Skylar, and any other OC's made up for the purpose of this fanfiction.

* * *

Chapter 8

Roxas, Zexion, and Demyx lounge on Skylar's bed together while they watch the female Strifehart pack up her suitcase. A feeling of sadness hands in the air.

"Why do you have to leave so early this year?" Demyx asks, a pout on his face. "You usually stay until the last three days of summer break."

Skylar pauses to consider whether or not she wants to pack a sleeveless shirt that Rikku got for her before shrugging and tossing it in. "It's because," She closes the suitcase and makes sure to lock it. "I promised a friend that I'd help her out with something this summer."

"Sorika." Roxas says dully. He's barely gotten to spend any time with Skylar as it is, so he's the most bummed out that she's leaving earlier than usual. Plus, he has a bad feeling that something big might happen soon, so he's worried about his family and all his friends.

Skylar nods. "Yeah. She found out where Uncle Riku keeps his old yearbook and wants me to look at it with her."

"Is she the one who doesn't know who her mother is?" Demyx asks curiously. He's always been interested in Skylar's Destiny Gardens friends. "It seems kind of weird that no one will tell her."

"Some things are best left unsaid." Zexion remarks. Unlike Demyx, he hasn't ever been too interested in Skylar's other friends. In fact, outside of their little group of miscreants, he's not interested in anyone else.

"Not this." Skylar says stubbornly. "Somehow I get the feeling that her mom is someone important; someone who everyone misses and loves dearly."

"You've been wrong before, Sky." Roxas reminds her. "But I believe you. And even if it isn't a good idea for her to know who her mom is, she still deserves to know." Roxas himself had been through something similar a year or two after Leon and Cloud adopted him except with him it was his mother and stepfather who contacted him. They're the reason Roxas has to stay in Hollow Bastion and isn't able to go with Skylar to Destiny Gardens. And while he hates the fact that he knows whom his birth parents all, he knows he would have tried to find out one day if they hadn't found him first.

"How long has your friend been trying to figure it out?" Demyx asks.

"Ever since I've known her." Skylar says softly.

The four fall silent and think about how it'd be if they didn't know their parents or, for Roxas, if Leon and Cloud hadn't adopted him. Even Zexion, who rarely spends time with his parents, feels that it wouldn't be the happiest life.

"Good luck, Skylar." Zexion finally says, breaking the silence.

Skylar smiles. "Thanks."

* * *

Skylar arrives back in Destiny Gardens late in the evening and reports to Yuffie before doing anything else. She manages to avoid Yuffie's questions on why she was never told that Kairi was in Hollow Bastion and then she begins the walk to Sorika and Riku's house.

She gets stopped a few times along the way by some of the guys who were in her weapons class, but other than that her trip is uninterrupted. She soon arrives at the Kagi house and rings the doorbell.

Instead of Riku or Sora answering the door, a man that Skylar has never seen before answers the door. Skylar looks at him in surprise, some part of her brain finding him familiar somehow.

"Hey, Riku, is there a reason why there's a girl who looks like Cloud out here?" He asks.

A clattering sound is heard and then Riku walks into the hallway while wiping his hands on a dishtowel. "Sora, that's Sorika's friend, Skylar. She's Cloud's and Leon's daughter." He explains. "Skylar, this is Sora Hikari. He's an old… friend of mine." His brief hesitation goes unnoticed by Skylar, but Sora notices.

"Is Sorika here?" Skylar finds her voice. She avoids looks at Sora, not wanting to try and figure out why he looks familiar. She knows she needs to focus on getting ready to help Sorika.

"She's in her room." Riku says.

Skylar thanks him and brushes by Sora to run quickly to her best friend's room. She quickly enters the room and shuts the door behind her.

Sorika looks up from the book she's flipping through and looks curiously at Skylar. "Are you alright?" She asks, getting the feeling that something isn't right. Skylar's being much too quiet. "Did something happen in Hollow Bastion?" Her curious look changes to a worried one. While over at Yuffie's she and Haruko overheard a conversation between Yuffie and Cid about strange things happening at Hollow Bastion.

"Everything's fine at home." Skylar says. She crosses the room and sits down beside her friend. "Who's that guy out there?"

"An old friend of my dad's from Destiny Island." Sorika says. "He's also my keyblade instructor. Why?"

Skylar shrugs, not really wanting to explain it. "It's nothing."

Sorika raises an eyebrow, not believing her friend at all. "It's not 'nothing' that is bothering you. What is wrong?"

"He looks familiar." Skylar admits. "But I know I've never seen him before! I just-" She cuts herself off when her eyes land on the book that Sorika is holding. "Naminé's mom has a yearbook like that." She scoots a little closer and points to a pretty redhead. "That's her."

"Kairi Heartstone." Sorika reads. "I think I heard Yuffie talking about her once, although I heard the last name 'Kokoro' instead of 'Heartstone'. Hey," She points to a green-eyed brunette. "There's aunt Selphie. And Uncle Tidus and Uncle Wakka."

Skylar hums as her eyes scan over the pages. "There's your dad." She peers closely at the picture of a brunet two pictures to Riku's left. "It that…?"

"Sora Hikari. Yeah." Sorika nods. "It's funny; I never noticed how blue his eyes were until I started looking through here."

"Any luck with the search?" Skylar asks.

Sorika shakes her head. "No. You wouldn't believe how many girls have blue eyes."

"Try reading things that people wrote." Skylar suggests. "He had to have been dating your mom at that time, so wouldn't it make sense that your mom would have written a really sweet note? And if not, you know Uncle Tidus and Uncle Wakka had to have written a note to tease him about it."

Sorika's eyes widen. "Why didn't I think of that?!" She turns her full attention to the yearbook and eagerly flips to the last three pages reserved for signatures. She laughs when she reads the "conversation" that Tidus and Wakka held before Selphie interrupted them and then at the cute, teasing note that was written by Kairi. Her heart speeds up when she comes across a long one that begins with "My love." "Here it is." She breathes.

"Read it out loud." Skylar suggests. She's just as eager to find out who it is, but feels it would be sweeter to read the note before seeing the name.

"'My love,'" Sorika begins reading. "'I can't even begin to describe how weird it is to call you that now. We'll have to thank Kairi one of these days. It's hard to believe we're graduating and that just three years ago we were in a completely different world. We've come a long way. Here's to hoping we have a peaceful summer and that we'll stay together for the rest of time. Love,'" She cuts her sentence short and gapes at the yearbook. "No fucking way."

Skylar looks at Sorika in concern. It's very rare that the silver-haired girl curses and when she does it's usually a bad thing. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Sorika wordlessly hands Skylar the yearbook to let her friend read it for herself.

* * *

Downstairs, Riku and Sora continue the conversation they were having in the kitchen before they were interrupted by Skylar. Riku has caught Sora up on just about everything that has happened since Sora left on King Mickey's request. Things like how Cid found the world between Destiny Island and Radiant Gardens and how Yuffie named it Destiny Gardens and decided she had to start a specialized school there were the most detailed conversations. After the two get settled in the living room Riku tells Sora about Leon and Cloud getting together and how Skylar is their daughter and they also adopted a boy. He doesn't dare mention the name of the boy and avoids all of Sora's questions regarding him. And of course he brings up Selphie and Tidus and their two kids.

While listening to Riku talk about Sorika's training, Sora comfortably rests his head on Riku's shoulder and enjoys listening to a voice he's longed to hear for years. A tidal wave of emotions wash over him and a thousand thoughts and questions dance in his head.

"Sora?" Riku's silky voice cuts straight through Sora's thoughts and brings the brunet back to reality.

Sora doesn't look up, knowing that if he meets Riku's eyes his resolve will crumble. A voice in his head that sounds suspiciously like his nobody, who he hasn't heard from in over 13 years, reminds him that just because he still loves Riku it doesn't mean Riku still loves him.

"Is something wrong?" Riku asks, unused to Sora being so quiet. Before, he and Kairi could hardly ever get Sora to be quiet.

"Nothings wrong, Riku. I'm just thinking." Sora says.

"Thinking?" Riku's voice takes on a playful edge. "I had no idea you could think."

"Riku!" Sora exclaims in mock outrage. He looks up at his friend's face, but doesn't look at his eyes.

Riku smirks and taps Sora's nose. "So-ra."

Sora makes the mistake of meeting Riku's sea-green eyes. He feels his resolved weakening and quickly looks away. His mind races for something to say and lands on the one question that's been bothering him. "Riku, who's Sorika's mother?" He regrets asking that question when he feels Riku stiffen and hears him breathe in sharply. He looks up at Riku in worry.

"Sora…" Riku hesitates, for once unsure of what to say. It takes him a minute or two to gather his thoughts enough. In that time, Sora lifts his head from Riku's shoulder to stare at him with unwavering blue eyes. He remains silent to give Riku time to think.

"Sorika doesn't have a mother." Riku continues on, ignoring Sora's confused look. "She has two fathers." He looks straight at Sora.

"Who-?" Sora stops talking abruptly and his eyes widen. "Me?" He squeaks almost comically. Riku may have laughed at the look on his face if the situation wasn't so serious. "I have a daughter? But when? How?" He looks to Riku for answers, even more confused than before.

Riku swallows thickly, although he is starting to find it easier to talk to Sora. "It was the night before you left and as for how," A slightly amused look crosses his face. "Merlin owed me a favor from when I helped him with something. It only works once."

"Why didn't you tell me before now? Why didn't Yuffie tell me?" Sora demands. "Yuffie can't keep a secret to save her life! And wait," He gives Riku a look. "Doesn't that make you Sorika's mother?"

"She never knew for certain, although I'm sure she suspected it." Riku says. "Leon and Cloud knew. They've always been good at getting information from people. Aerith knew too and so did Cid." He blushes when he comes to Sora's last question. "Technically, yes."

Sora chooses not to tease Riku about being the 'mother', knowing that Riku can be sensitive about his looks. "So what now?" He asks after a moment of silence. "Are you going to tell her?"

Before Riku can answer, there comes a yell from upstairs from Skylar.

"NO FUCKING WAY!!"

Footsteps pound down the attic stairs and Sorika and Skylar run into the living room. Sorika holds up the yearbook, her blue eyes burning fiercely. She falters slightly when she sees how closely Riku and Sora are sitting, but it also strengthens her resolve.

"I guess she figured it out on her own." Sora whispers.

"Because _someone _didn't put the yearbook away." Riku whispers back.

"Oh, so now it's _my _fault?" Sora looks affronted.

Riku smirks. "Yes."

Sorika's anger fades away as she watches her dad's bicker with one another over whose fault it is that she found out using the old yearbook. Skylar finds the whole thing amusing. Sorika's always teased her about her own dysfunctional family, so now she'll get the chance to tease her friend.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Sorika finally asks after three minutes of hearing her dad's bicker.

"He was afraid and I had no idea." Sora replies quite frankly. "So Riku," He takes his gaze off of his newly discovered daughter to look at Riku. "What now?"

"Well," Riku slips an arm around Sora's shoulders. "I think we'd be honored if you'd move in with us. Tonight, preferably." He looks up and meets Sorika's surprised gaze. "What do you think?"

Sorika just nods, too excited about finally meeting her other parent to care about the circumstances and that everyone always let her think she had a father and a mother instead of two fathers.

"Don't mind me." Skylar says. "I need to get back and talk to Yuffie and explain a few things to her. I'll let myself out." She pats Sorika on the shoulder and then leaves without another word, letting the family sort things out for themselves. She'll have plenty of time to see how things turn out, and being around them makes her miss her own family. "Now I know why Sora looked familiar." She whispers to herself as she walks away from the house. "Sorika looks like him. She may have Riku's hair and pale skin, but she has Sora's build and his eyes." She looks around and spots the sun sinking over the horizon and casting reds and oranges over the sky. "I'm happy for them." She looks away from the sunrise and continues to Yuffie's apartment, taking her time so she can think of what excuse to give Yuffie as to why she was never told about Kairi being in Hollow Bastion.

0-0-0

Shiro: Oh my goddess! (falls over from relief) It's over! Finished! Although the ended changed from what I wanted it to be, but I'm glad for it.

Bast: Am I going to be amused over how many people want a sequel?

Shiro: (shudders) Goddess, I hope not. I want to get to work on that other KH fanfiction. As of now I have no plans for a sequel to this story.

Here's a big **_THANK YOU!!! _**to everyone who reviewed, put the fanfic on your favorites list or put the fanfic on your alert list.


	9. NOTE

Can I rant? Is that allowed? I just want to rant a little. Okay, so maybe it's not so much as a rant as it is me being stupid and complaining about my own story.

Isn't that great? Most authors complain when you insult their story, but I attack my own! Go me!

Anyway, rereading this whole fiction now I can't help but think, 'What the hell was I thinking?! I wouldn't even read this!'. And then to add onto that, I've been working on Sorika and Skylar's characters lately and have remembered how much fun they were to work with. And so, I came up with an idea!

Run for the hills, I have an idea!

I want to redo this fic. And by 'redo' I mean, pull completely apart and write it so it makes better sense and is more 'realistic'. I think I'm starting to regret having written this without playing the game first. Everyone's out-of-character, including my own OC's, and the whole 'Destiny Gardens' thing makes me want to pull my hair out and scream in frustration.

You see, I had plans to do a sequel to this story, but that ain't happening with this fic in the state it's in right now. And so, it's coming down. But it'll come down later once I start rewritting it and who knows how long that'll take. I'm hoping it won't be too long, since there are only a few chapters of Herutsu no Oukoku left. And then I can start on my brand new fic and start rewritting this. Hey, if I can (somehow) manage to balance 3-4 fics at once, then I can handle 2.

So lets see... the redone version of this should have longer chapters, a more believable plotline, NO 'Destiny Gardens', In-Character characters, and will, in general, make more sense. And there may even be a plot twist! (gasp) Can I actually pull something like that off? We'll see.

So, what do you all think?


End file.
